Spain’s Defence ministry can’t manoeuvre a move

SPAIN’S army wants to “decongest” the Madrid Community where 30 per cent of its soldiers are stationed.

It hopes to relocate them to underpopulated areas of Spain and has already moved the Castillejos Division’s HQ to Huesca.

There are also plans to move a regiment to Zamora and another to Burgos, while installing a giant logistics centre in one of the Castillas or Andalucia.

But there is a huge drawback to these projects which would be welcomed in zones with ageing populations that are increasingly deserted by the young.

“We don’t have the money,” army sources told El Pais.

At present the army owns 236 properties classed as “unnecessary.”  Of these, 140 are located in urban areas, often in the centre of big cities, and their sale could finance relocating to other parts of Spain.

“These barracks cannot be sold until they are empty and they won’t be empty until their occupants have moved,” the same sources said. “It’s a vicious circle.”

Meanwhile, the property market has not returned to its pre-2008 financial crisis levels and the Ministry of Defence is reluctant to demilitarise unused  properties at this stage, as that would mean paying the IVA added-value tax.

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