A well-known upmarket Marbella nightclub has reopened its summer beach club venue, two years after it was shut down in a planning scandal involving Marbella town hall.

Funky Buddha Beach is now operating for the summer season next to El Pinillo beach, just east of Marbella’s entrance arch where the Funny Beach go-karting track used to be.

The original beach club failed to open for the 2015 summer season after planning bosses at Marbella council noted irregularities in the complex, which includes a swimming pool and changing rooms. The lack of planning permission mired the previous PP-led administration at the town hall in legal controversy. Although the former councillor for Planning was being investigated, the case was shelved when he died.

The owners of Funky Buddha Beach have had to apply for two planning licences in order to be allowed to finally open this year. One to take down the original offending structures and one to put up new installations. Up to 150 people are working at the reopened club.