hirteen years and one month after Puerto Sherry went into voluntary bankruptcy, a judge has decided that its assets should be returned, and that the concessionary company should take over management of the port once again. Although an appeal against the decision could be lodged within five days, this is thought unlikely and it is probable that after Wednesday 20th February Puerto Sherry will officially no longer be considered bankrupt.
This has been a complex tale, dating back to January 1995 when the number 2 court in El Puerto accepted the request for voluntary bankruptcy which had been rejected twice by court number 1. In the year 2000, legal intervention meant that the port could remain open although the Yacht Club Hotel was closed down, only to reopen at a later date, and in 2001 the running of the port was taken out of the hands of the concessionary company, Marina del Puerto S.A.
The situation which has now arisen, with the assets and management powers being returned to the company, is almost unheard-of, but the owners must now pay off the debts which were frozen at 16,000 million pesetas when bankruptcy was declared, and put a viability plan into effect. The original viability plan was turned down, and the new one is much more ambitious and involves greater investment in Puerto Sherry.
This, in theory, will guarantee its regeneration and survival. It includes building a luxury leisure centre, similar to the Activa Club in Jerez, and a shopping centre, in the area which is currently a dry dock. The number of berths must also be increased from 750 to 1250, the existing car park will be replaced by underground parking facilities, the unfinished second hotel (The Racket Club) must be completed within six months, and a 7,000 square metre site must be made available to the Junta de Andalucía so a Sailing Centre can be built there.
El Puerto Town Hall and the Port Authority have both agreed to give as much assistance as possible in obtaining the licences which will be needed and, if all goes well, the port which was supposed to be the Costa de la Luz's version of Puerto Banús will finally have the bright future which was planned for it when it first opened at the end of the 1970s.
El Puerto de Santa Maria - Purto Sherry news
The Brit who was behind this marina development, George Walker (Brent Walker) the former East End boxer turned businessman, was also hoping to turn Brighton Marina into one of the best in Europe. Lack of funds and economic conditions changed and the project was sold on and it took many years to the present stage where expensive apartments and moorings mix with shops and cinema plus casino etc. The history of Brighton Marina makes interesting reading and shows how long these developments can take .Puerto Sherry will become a much larger marina with more facilities than ever and the residential areas will at last be completed. Hopefully.
http://www.brightonmarina.co.uk/
http://www.brightonmarina.co.uk/