Local Headlines - December 2018

Massive blockage

The N-340 coast road between Nerja and Torrox was closed on November 20 after a massive boulder, estimated to weigh over five tons, fell from the cliffs and landed in the middle of the carriageway.  No-one was injured after the giant rock, believed to have been loosened by heavy rain, crashed through a protective fence in the area of Calaceite beach.  It was broken up by a hammer drill, producing 25 square metres of debris, while the cliffs above were inspected for other potentially dangers.

Flooding death

A 60-year-old woman died in Vélez-Málaga at the end of October after being swept away by flood water.  She was attempting to cross the Rio Seco, swollen by exceptionally heavy rain, when she slipped and fell in.  A search by police and civil protection volunteers recovered her battered body two kilometres away.

M&S Málaga

Top British retailer Marks & Spencer has announced the opening of a new outlet in the city of Málaga before the end of the year.  It is to be on the site of a former shoe shop in the city centre at calle Nueva, 36.  M&S presently has two shops on the peninsula: one at the La Cañada Centre in Marbella and the other in Gibraltar.

Local News - December 2018

Cleansing dispute

Workers for the municipal cleansing company in Torrox have held a series of demonstrations in the town.  Employees of Livitemsa are angered that their collective employment agreement expired in 2015 and that a new one is being blocked.  They are demanding a pay increase of 6% and two days off each week.

Drubs bust

National Police in Vélez-Málaga have arrested a man and woman in their 20s after the discovery of four marihuana cultivations.  Information led officers to two houses in Pueblo Nuevo de la Axarquía where a strong smell was noticed coming from two extractors.  Almost 400 plants were seized while the couple also face a charge of connecting illegally to the public power supply.

Circus slammed

An animal protection group has accused the touring Roma Dola Circus of keeping animals in “devastating” conditions.  The Granada Federation of Animal Protection Associations said the creatures were suffering from physical, mental and health abuses.  In September, Granada declared the province to be “free of animal abuse” but only four regions nationwide (Cataluñya, the Balearic Islands, Galicia and Murcia) operate an outright ban on animal circuses.

Mast removal

Orange telecoms last month agreed to take down a mobile telephone mast between Torrox Costa and El Morche.  Local residents had complained for ten years about the presence of the transmitter and the company was ordered to dismantle it a year ago.  It was not until mayor Óscar Medina gave them a deadline of November 19 that action was taken.

Mayor dies

The body of the mayor of El Borge was found at his family farm in early November.  Salvador Fernández Marín, aged 48, is believed to have taken his own life, although he is reported to have been working normally at the town hall until the day of his death.  He leaves a widow and a son.

Sanitation fine

Nerja has been named amongst 17 Spanish municipalities which violate EU sanitation requirements.  As a result, Madrid will be fined €22 million a year, according to Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán.  Construction of Nerja’s new sewage treatment plant is well advanced and is expected to enter a trial phase in the New Year.

Resits cancelled

Students in Málaga, Granada and Almería were facing having to resit exams after a bundle of their answer papers went astray.  After the English language exam on October 13, a package of 404 papers disappeared en route to Cambridge English Assessment headquarters after delivery firm Mail Boxes ETC mislaid them.  But in mid-November, the bundle turned up intact in Sweden, which means students will not have to repeat the tests.

Cuts rejected

Councillors in both Nerja and Vélez-Málaga have rejected proposals to lower the IBI property tax in 2019.  In each municipality, the suggestion was launched by the local Partido Popular groups which are working in opposition to the current socialist administrations.  The governing groups said that lowering the local tax would make it “impractical” to maintain minimum services.

School expansion

Planning is underway to expand the Enrique Ginés school in Frigiliana which presently has a capacity of 300 pupils.  However, population growth in the area suggests that it will soon have to cater for 400 children.  Representatives from the town hall met the regional education department last month to discuss the provision of new classrooms.