Málaga – New Motorway for 2009

The new Las Pedrizas motorway in Málaga is to be built by the Sacyr-Vallehermoso group, and it should be open by the end of 2009. Construction of the 25 kilometre stretch of dual carriageway will cost about 322 million euros, and it is expected to bring an end to the notorious traffic jams to the north of the provincial capital. The toll charge for using the motorway will probably be fixed at 1.50 euros, and the concessionary company will not be given the right to increase it.

Manilva – Investigation into Aldea Hills

Manilva council is to carry out an investigation into three licences granted by in 2001 for the construction of 256 properties in the Aldea Hills area. There are suspicions that there may have been irregularities in the sale of the land by former mayor Emilio López Berenguer, and that the site was not zoned for construction of private housing although council housing could be built there. The anti-corruption authorities have requested information about the projects from the council, following an official complaint by the PSOE political party. The 20,000 square metres of land were sold for 1.2 million euros, and it is claimed that the plots were subsequently sold on for 18 million euros.

Estepona – Unregistered Properties to Be Taxed

Owners of properties tucked away in the Estepona countryside are to start paying the IBI tax. The council is drawing up a list of houses; many of them built illegally, in rural areas and is to send the owners tax demands. So far, the local authority has identified 485 properties, of which only 87 are registered for IBI, and has inspected the area between the Camino de Cuesta de Ronda and Camino de las Carmelitas, from the cemetery westwards, and from the eastern side of the industrial estate to the Guadalobón. The inspections of rural areas will continue throughout this year, and the council expects to raise at least 700,000 euros a year from people who were previously not meeting their IBI tax obligations.

Costa Cálida – Polaris World Given Go-Ahead

The Polaris World construction company has finally been given permission to start construction of its luxury residential complex in Alhama, following final agreement between the PP and the PSOE.

The delays on the building have lasted for some 9 months but now appear to be over with permission granted for the first 2,500 homes to be constructed.

The second phase of a further 10,000 homes will be granted permission once the developer presents a new infrastructure plan for the complex.

Mijas – Illegal Construction Crackdown

Officials in Mijas have shut down two illegal home-construction projects in a five-day period. The first was a 200-square-metre home in La Alquería and the other a 70-square-metre home in El Hornillo. In both cases work was observed to be still underway following a previous halt-work order. “Based on a recent municipal law, illegal construction works can be shut down without previous warning,” said the Town Hall in a statement.

El Puerto de Santa María – New Urban Plan

El Puerto's Town Planning councillor, Juan Carlos Rodríguez, says that the new Urban Plan will be presented to the council for approval at the end of next month or in early September. The draft project is currently on public display at the offices of the Apemsa water company, and will remain there until the 5th of August. Once any suggested changes have been considered and the Plan has been approved by the council, the next step will be to send it on to the Junta de Andalucía.

El Puerto's Urban Plan includes 25,528 new homes, the legalisation of more than 4,000 properties, 20 million square metres of land for development, and four million square metres of protected land. At the moment there are 46,000 homes in the town, and the present population is 83,605. The number of inhabitants is expected to rise to 100,880 by the year 2018.

Gibraltar – Development Angers Ecologists

The Government of Gibraltar signed in January of last year an agreement to develop a commercial zone on its eastern beach. The project is valued at more than a billion pounds sterling and includes the construction of 2,200 apartments, underground parking, a sports port with 300 moorings, a four star hotel with 300 rooms plus commercial and businesses premises. In addition there is to be a new electricity generating station, pumping station and water distribution network.

Whilst this spells good news for Gibraltar it has provoked much concern amongst the ecologist group Verdemar. It is unhappy about the continuing process of the filling in of the eastern zone of the Rock to create the platform on which the tourism development will be built. Verdemar spokesperson, Antonio Muñoz, has pointed out that the work is advancing at a fast pace and once completed its effects will be irreversible. He believes the development will damage La Línea's Levante beach and is angry that the Spanish government is acting in a "passive" manner towards the scheme.

Cádiz – Property Prices Soaring

The price of property in Cádiz city went up by 60.7% between 2003 and 2005, according to figures just published by the government, and this makes Cádiz the provincial capital with the third highest increase in property prices in the country. The average rise, nationwide, was 48.5% during the same period, with an average annual increase of 16.2%.

The statistics also show that the most expensive areas for buying property in Spain are not Madrid and Cataluña, as many people would expect, but are now Murcia, Andalucía and Castilla-La Mancha.

Costa del Sol – Best Year For Tourism

This is the best year for tourism on the Costa del Sol in the past decade, according to statistics just issued for the first six months of the year. Hotel occupancy has been up by 3% compared with 2005, and is expected to reach 85% in August even though there are 3,000 extra hotel beds available in Málaga province this year as new establishments have opened and others have been enlarged.

Fuengirola – Officially A Tourist Resort

Fuengirola has become the fifth town in the province of Málaga to be officially recognized as a ‘Tourist Resort’ - a description which brings with it certain advantages and privileges. The announcement was made this week, when Chipiona in the province of Cádiz also attained the status, bringing the Andalusian total to 13. The other eleven are Roquetas de Mar (Almería), Conil de la Frontera, Chiclana de la Frontera and Tarifa (Cádiz), Aracena (Huelva), Cazorla (Jaén), Santiponce (Seville), and Benalmádena, Nerja, Ronda and Torremolinos, all in the province of Málaga.

In order to attain this coveted status, which brings funding for services and other means of making the town more competitive and attractive to holidaymakers, resorts have to prove to the regional government, the Junta de Andalucía, that they meet certain conditions regarding number of inhabitants and overnight stays by visitors.

Among Fuengirola’s attractions are the Sohail castle and the Roman remains of the “Finca del Secretario”.

Málaga – Proposed Amendments to Urban Plan

The Green Party in Málaga have announced that they plan to present City Hall with proposed amendments to the new PGOU Urban Plan for the city, which will include installing solar panels in new homes. The party’s spokesman, Ángel Rodríguez, has said that ‘Málaga city does not comply with any of the Kyoto Protocol stipulations, despite agreements by City Hall to increase use of renewal able energy and reduce electricity consumption. The term ’renewable energy’ is not even mentioned once in the PGOU,’ he said. The city’s new Urban Plan was approved by City Hall’s Partido Popular majority last week. All the other parties voted against it.

Marbella – Business Centre for Foreigners

The fact that so many foreigners want to set up their own business in Marbella has led to the creation of a new Advice and Development Centre for entrepreneurs that is unique in Andalucía. In addition to acting as consultants and providing information about training, accommodation and financing to Spanish businesses the centre is also to concentrate on encouraging foreign entrepreneurs all over Andalucía. This will include those who do not live in the province of Málaga but have business interests in Andalucía.

The idea is to make it easier for businessmen and women from all over Europe to set up their own concern in Marbella or to invest in a scheme set up by young people, whether Spanish or foreign, in the area. This means that one of the functions of the new centre will be to look for foreign investors and persuade them that the Costa del Sol is a good area for business.

As the Málaga provincial head of Innovation. María Gámez, said: “It is especially aimed at British and German investors. Previously they had nowhere where they could receive specialised advice in their own language.” The staff working at the centre will have a bilingual cultural training to aid British and German investors.

The centre, to be based in the Avenida Ricardo Soriano, will also provide free accommodation for entrepreneurs with original ideas for a type of business which does exist in the town at the moment. Meetings between Spanish and foreign investors will be arranged and study days on alternative energy, biotechnology etc. will be organised. Covering 370 square metres, the centre will include private offices and function rooms. It is expected to be up and running after the summer.

Edificio Luada

Edificio Luada development consists of 18 apartments with air conditioning, fitted kitchen, video porter and alarm and is located in the centre of Malaga, the capital city of the province and located in the heart of the Costa del Sol; ideal for discovering Granada, Motril, Nerja and the Eastern Costa del Sol or to the west Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Marbella along the N340 or toll road.

Prices start from €156,139.

La Zarza – New Development

La Zarza development is located in La Granja, Algeciras and consists of two bedroom terraced houses with parking place and private garden or patio.

The Costa del Sol has a unique micro climate that allows for all year round outdoor pursuits and activities making it the nº1 choice for most Europeans. It is known for its beautiful surroundings, the variety and diversity of the landscapes, mountains and hills, rivers and water springs. It offers fantastic beaches and many leisure facilities, restaurants, cafes, entertainment venues and much more.

Prices for Townhouses: €195,500.

. Vélez Málaga – Sponsor a Baby Donkey

Los Verdes-Andalucía - the Green Party-Andalucía - have put 5,000 raffle tickets on sale in Vélez Málaga, with first prize going to the person whose ticket bears the same number as the ONCE lottery draw on 27th April 2007.

It is part of their campaign to make the public more aware of the need to care for their environment, and to protect donkeys as a species in danger of extinction.

The first prize is ownership, or sponsorship, of Juan, a six month old baby donkey.

The Greens say Juan ‘is environmentally educated, he is sustainable, does not contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer, he meets the Kyoto protocol, and he doesn’t need any connections to get a decent job.’

La Línea – More Tourists

La Línea's tourist office has dealt with 18,389 people in the first six months of this year compared with 12,748 last year. It has reported that occupancy levels have reached 74 per cent, up from 70 per cent for the same period last year, whilst there are now 225 more hotel bedrooms than in 2005.

Puerto Real (Cádiz) – New Bypass Open

It is now possible to travel the 57 kilometres between Jerez and Conil in just half an hour, thanks to the opening of the last part of the Puerto Real bypass earlier this week. This new stretch of highway also links with the A-381 Jerez-Los Barrios via the A-5105 El Pedroso road, which will be used by traffic heading to Algeciras and will reduce congestion in the Bay of Cádiz.

Ronda – Internet Expansion

Residents in Ronda and various other countryside towns will soon be able to carry out their transactions via the internet.

The announcement is part of a regional government plan to streamline the operation of councils in the interior of Andalucía, and will mean that electronic signatures will soon be accepted to pay for council services.

This development could signal the end of long, time-consuming queues at stuffy council offices for residents and expats alike.

Of course, this will depend largely on ability to use the internet and having a credit or debit card, but with their use becoming much more widespread, it means you could do all your council business at the touch of a button from the comfort of your home or office.

Apart from Ronda, the other councils taking in the development include Alozaina, Benaojan, Benarraba, Cartajima, Genalguacil, Paruta, Pujera, Serrato and Montecorto.

This means that residents from all these council areas will be able to change their medical details or pay their regional taxes at any time of the day or night.

Almuñécar –Building Licence Suspended

The Andalucian Supreme Court has suspended the building licence issued by the Almuñecar town hall for the construction of the Medina Cantalobos urbanization in April 2003.

The sentence this supports the arguments of the regional government and orders construction to stop because the project is not on build-able land.

22 detached homes are affected in the Pago de Cantalobo area of Almuñécar by the ruling.

Benalmádena – IBI Tax Reduction

Benalmádena Town Hall has announced plans for an across-the-board 10 per cent reduction in its IBI real estate tax rate next year.

When added to other discounts already available to ‘exemplary citizens’ of the town, the rate cut will mean potential IBI tax reductions of up to 38 per cent.
The 10 per cent reduction, which will apply to all residents, whether registered (‘empadronado’) or not, comes as a measure to counteract the major IBI increase experienced in the town due to a revision of the official cadastral values of homes, explained Town Hall officials. The revised assessments were performed in 2005 for the first time in 16 years and the huge jump in assessed values meant a steep IBI hike for homeowners throughout the town.

The 10 per cent IBI cut still has to be formally approved in the Town Council, which officials say will occur either later this month or in September. For the remaining 28 per cent available discount, residents have to meet certain conditions. People considered by the Town Hall to be ‘exemplary citizens’ – those who are ‘empadronado’ and have no outstanding municipal debts – get a 23 per cent discount on their IBI bill. This good-Samaritan benefit has been available for some time; it used to be set at 16 per cent but late last year the Town Hall increased it to 23 per cent.

The final five per cent IBI discount goes to all homeowners who pay the tax via a direct-payment system from their bank.