Residents of carrer de Raseta de Sales, in Reus, report an increase in insecurity and unhealthiness due to the occupation of a private plot of land on the same street. The discontent has been ongoing since the beginning of the year, when several people moved to this abandoned space after having occupied homes in the old town.
The tension on the street is not concentrated solely on the occupation of the premises, but on the fact that neighborhood complaints and police interventions have not curbed the incidents. Those affected maintain that at first some homeless people slept there without causing conflicts, but that weeks later another group arrived, to whom they attribute the noise, fights, damage, and deterioration of the environment.
Neighbors link the incidents to a second group that arrived weeks later
According to the neighborhood's account, the occupants first entered by jumping over the perimeter wall and then forced open a street-level shutter to access the interior of the plot. Since then, they report constant episodes of noise, arguments, and fights, as well as vandalism and damage to establishments in the area.
Some residents state that they avoid leaving their homes at certain times for fear of encountering conflict situations. To that perception, they add a hygiene problem due to the accumulation of waste and warn of the proliferation of rats in the area.
Three or four people usually reside on the premises, although neighbors describe a continuous daily flow of comings and goings. This mobility has fueled suspicion among those affected that illegal activities, including possible drug trafficking, could be taking place on the plot.
The neighborhood protest has already begun to organize on the street. About twenty people met to study possible actions and convey their demands to both municipal groups and police forces.
The city council estimates fifteen interventions by the Guàrdia Urbana
Those affected assure that they have repeatedly contacted the Ajuntament de Reus and that they also submitted a joint formal complaint through the municipal website, without the response they expected. Patrols from the Guàrdia Urbana and the Mossos d'Esquadra have gone to the site on several occasions, although the neighborhood maintains that the situation has only worsened.
Municipal sources indicate that the council is on the side of the residents and that it has already acted through the Guàrdia Urbana and the Environment services. The city council estimates that around fifteen police actions have been carried out so far at this point in Reus.
The council adds that the owner of the land is an investment fund, to which it attributes the obligation to intervene and take charge of the plot. It also maintains that this owner does not respond to municipal requirements.
Meanwhile, the neighborhood is preparing the judicial route to formally identify the property, file a complaint to request eviction, and initiate proceedings for unsanitary conditions and the possible ruinous state of the property. The residents argue that the situation represents a risk to public health.
In addition to these actions, last Thursday the Instagram account @sosrasetadesales began operating to disseminate videos and testimonies about the usual incidents on Raseta de Sales street.