Churriana

The Malaga Planning Commission has given the green light to a scheme to build some 2,847 homes and a golf course in the area known as Rojas-Santa Tecla near the municipal boundary where Churriana meets Torremolinos. The new properties will include detached and semi-detached houses and apartments and the 18-hole golf course will cover almost half a million square metres. The project also reserves more than 330,000 square metres for public parks and gardens, 45,000 square metres for schools and 47,000 for sports and social facilities, as well as two commercial areas. The scheme continues on the other side of the municipal boundary in Torremolinos with another golf course, this time with nine holes, and 900 more properties. Work on the Torremolinos side should start soon while construction in Churriana is not likely to get under way for another two years.

Nerja

The number of foreign residents registered on the population census is steadily increasing. Figures for the end of March put the town’s population at 22,272, with foreigners representing 30.23 per cent (6,733 inhabitants). The foreign community is made up of residents of 76 nationalities - the majority (2,725) being British citizens, Argentinians (583) and Germans (553). With regard to age, only five (two men and three women) are over 95; 35 per cent are aged between 60 and 80 and under 30s make up 24 per cent of the foreign community, which is an increase of two per cent compared with 2008.

Marbella

Financing from the “Plan Zapatero” and the Junta de Andalucía to help boost employment has allowed the local authority to double its spending in the town. The special funds will go towards more than 50 public works projects, many beginning in the next few weeks. Some of the projects will be of short duration lasting around four weeks, but work on the Paseo Marítimo in San Pedro will take eight months to complete. The Mayor had stated that 60 per cent of the contracts will be carried out by local companies and 900 jobs created, but this figure has been questioned by the opposition who say 26 per cent and 650 jobs is a more accurate figure.

Traffic lights and other signs in the town are to be fitted with LED (light emitting diodes) systems to save energy and reduce environmental impact. Some 1,222 components will be replaced with an energy saving estimated at 85 per cent.

The beaches of the town now have 600 extra sunbeds, bringing the total to 12,505 spread along the 27 kilometres of coastline. The two main beaches to benefit are in Puerto Banús and from Río Real to Los Monteros. The Town Hall has also awarded concessions for 21 pedal boats and 12 speedboats to operate from the beaches.

The Tourism Department is funding a free courses in English for the town’s taxi drivers. Organised by the Association of Marbella Taxi Drivers, the course, which will include 45 hours of theory and practice, will be held at the Palacio de Congresos in June.

San Pedro

Plans for the new ITV motor vehicle testing station look closer to fruition, which will come as a relief to all drivers in the area who will no longer have to make the trip to Estepona or Malaga to have their car tested. The regional government has approved plans for five testing bays instead of the four originally planned. It is estimated that the new station will carry out 72,000 tests each year and create 16 new jobs. Once the usual bureaucratic processes have been dealt with, it is hoped that the work will start at the beginning of the summer.

Benalmádena

Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention and with the financial pressures as they are even Town Halls are looking to new ways of filling the public coffers. The new ordinance which governs charges which can be levied from those supplying services, like electricity, gas and telephones, that route their services via the public roads, means that the Town Hall will be some 250,000 euros better off in 2009.

In a second initiative, the Town Hall is planning to create a municipal company to take over the running of the municipality’s public transport, currently managed by the Portillo bus company. They have already acquired seven buses to start the fleet. They cite two main reasons for the plan: firstly to reduce the loss, around 350,000 euros, to the municipal funds and, secondly, to deal with the debt owed to Portillo. Current employees of the company have been reassured that their jobs will be protected.

Alozaina

The new mayor of Alozaina, Antonio Pérez, and deputy mayor María José Sánchez, are to accept pay cuts of 20 per cent. Pérez was named mayor of the village at the end of April after Francisco Guzmán was ousted from his position. Pérez, formerly deputy mayor, will now earn 1,500 euros a month instead of 1,915 euros, while Sánchez will see her income fall from 1,530 euros a month to 1,200 euros. The council says that the measure has been adopted in light of the current economic situation.

Mijas

Taxi drivers in the town are the first in Spain to reduce their tariffs in response to the economic hardships facing the country. Fares on the most used routes will be reduced by ten per cent. The tariff will apply to journeys in and around the town with a cost of less than 27 euros. The number of journeys by taxi has decreased by 30 per cent in the last year. The new tariff has been agreed with the Town Hall and all official taxis now carry the Mijas logo.

The councillor for Parks and Gardens is concentrating efforts on improving the La Muralla area and saving around 5,000 cubic metres of water each year. By introducing the concept of “zero gardening” into the area, which involves the careful selection of plants which require similar levels of hydration, grouped in zones. This allows the watering needs to be better controlled. Work will also be carried out on the detection and repair of leaks in the old pipework.

A new bylaw drawn up by the Parks and Gardens Department aims to curb the growth of exotic “invasive” species in local gardens. The regulation obliges all local parks and gardens, both public and private, to have at least 50 per cent native trees and plants. Special protection will also be afforded to Mediterranean vegetation such as the carob tree, the holm oak or cork oak.

Torrox

The road that passes through the old town is to undergo major reparations and upgrading in the coming months. Starting in the north of the town and extending some two kilometres, the project will create a grand boulevard with pavements, lighting and park areas. The work, which will last for around ten months will cost 1.7 million euros.

Rincón de la Victoria

As from May 1st until September 15th, the underground car park at El Torroba will be open for the full 24 hours, a move that the Town Hall believes will particularly benefit the hotel industry and encourage participation in the activities organised in the Plaza de la Constitución and other areas.

Fuengirola

Heavy machinery moved in this week to start work on the upgrading of Calle Jesús Cautivo between the Avenida Las Salinas and the Seat 600 roundabout. At a cost of almost one million euros and lasting for three months the work will cause some disruption to traffic and alternative routes will be signposted.

The recent European Paintball Championships held in the town helped to increase the hotel occupancy figures by between 25 and 55 per cent according to figures released on Monday. Hotels and hostels to the west of the town benefited the most with some reporting 100 per cent occupancy during the event. It is thought that the town will also benefit from the worldwide television coverage of the event.

Ronda

The number of families seeking help with food has doubled in the four months since December 2008, according to the Social Services department. So far more than 300 families in the La Dehesa, Padre Jesús and Casa de Hierro districts have received help and food supplied by the Red Cross. The Town Hall is also stockpiling food to cope with the likely increased demand brought about by the current economic problems.

Coín

The economic problems have hit the budget for the Spring Fiestas in the town, with a reduction of 90,000 in the grant from the Town Hall. It has been decided to amalgamate the May Feria with the Orange Festival. The two will now run from April 29th to May 3rd and have a joint budget of 140,000 euros. The Town Hall has also asked stall holders at the event to lower their prices by around 20 per cent. The festival of the Bulls, which has been run for the past five years, will not happen this year as the council prefers to save the 12,000 euros it would cost to mount.

Antequera

The restoration and study of an old parchment has revealed that it is one of very few old Arabic manuscripts of its kind in this country and dates back to 1493. The text, described when the parchment was catalogued back in the 18th century as “similar to musical notes” is written on vellum, not paper, and speaks of the sale of a house for 32 Doblas by a Nazrid woman to a Christian man, probably a member of the family of the Marqués de la Vega de Santa María.