Friday 1st November 2013
Torrox town council will present a written statement to the Coastal Corridor Protection Plan of Andalucía which limits the construction of buildings within 500 meters from the coastline, among other issues. This imposition would slow the development of the area of Calaceite, just close to Nerja, where the construction of major tourist facilities including a Marina is planned. Other areas are also excluded, such as Opportunity Areas for Shopping and Leisure Activities and Tourism Promotion Areas set out in the plan of the Axarquia.
According to the town’s Mayor, Francisco Muñoz, this document will harm the urban, economic and social development of the town, since it hinders the execution of several partial plans already in progress, of urban projects and land subdivision projects that were already approved and are within execution deadlines. The suppression of these sectors will mean that it will be impossible to develop the so known “Circo de Calaceite” plan, the area that was chosen to hold the main tourism facilities in the town: the golf course, marina, hotels and a residential area. The construction of the marina would mean a lot of tourism could be transferred to the Nerja area.
In the technical allegation’s written statement to be presented by the Torrox City Council, the violation of local autonomy is highlighted, since “the principle of zoning of the municipal territory belongs to the town and thus, other government intervention is justified only to the extent when interest above and beyond the municipal interest concurs or when legal checks are needed”. Furthermore, as mentioned in the document, these sectors had the approval of the regional administration in both the development of the General Plan as in Potax.
Moreover, the City Council warns that these areas have owners, which if suppressed would lead “ to a substantial compensation that would generate an imbalance in the town’s budget stability.” The written statement also indicates that out of the 58 sectors covered by the Coastal Plan in Andalucía, only four are classified as ordered land for development and among them, 3 belong to the town of Torrox. Therefore, the Mayor of Torrox believes that “the document is an obstacle to the development of Calaceite area, where it is anticipated that the main tourist facilities of the municipality will be built, and therefore, it is an obstacle to the economic and tourism development in Torrox”.
Nerja Taxis provide low cost taxi transfers from Malaga airport to Torrox.
