A notice which appeared in the Official Provinical Gazette in the middle of August outlines plans for the area known as Ensanche de Torre del Mar and opened a period of public consultation. A development of 2,800 new houses is planned for site under the town’s present PGOU (local development plan), but its reputation for being liable to flooding is delaying progress.
Vélez-Málaga Town Hall recently signed an agreement with Company Azucarera Larios SA which will bear the costs of protection of an area earmarked for 1,200 of the properties. The flood defence has an estimated cost of €1.4 million.
However, the opposition Partido Popular in the municipality has branded the project a “scandalous waste.”
The delays are also affecting progress on providing Torre del Mar with its planned theatre. The deputy mayor for the town, Jesús Carlos Pérez Atencia, said last month that €3 million had been reserved for the project, with the balance of its anticipated €9.5 million cost coming from a multi-year operation project.
However, he added that if the prospect of flooding continues to be a problem, an alternative site would be found. The theatre, as drafted by municipal architect Ruben Heredia would occupy15,359 square metres with four floors, a basement, an auditorium seating 527 people and associated facilities, However, the opposition Partido Popular in the municipality has branded the project a “scandalous waste.”
