Mobile phone mast plan halted after Costa del Sol residents stage protest

Residents of the Pilar area of Vélez-Málaga on the eastern Costa del Sol have successfully managed to halt plans for a mobile phone mast to be built.

Mayor of Velez, Jesús Lupiáñez, has said via social media that he found out on Tuesday 10 December about “the problem generated by the possible placement of a telephone mast in the Pilar area”. He added that “after the visit and report of the Local Police I am collecting information in the various departments of the town hall in order to analyse, with the regulations in force, the legal situation of such action”.

The town planning councillor, Celestino Rivas, announced in a message on social media that the council had issued an immediate stop order to the telecommunications company: “We want to tell the residents to be completely calm, because the works have been suspended.” Rivas went on to say, “The declaration of responsibility that this company has sent at the time has been totally ineffective, this licence will be technically analysed.”

Local residents have started a petition and created a WhatsApp group through which they are monitoring the situation. “We have gathered residents to try to stop the installation because it is harmful to the health of the whole area, it produces cancers among other health problems,” they said in a statement.

The residents have contacted the spokesperson of the main opposition party, Andalucía por Sí, whose leader, José Pino, explained that the qualification of the use of the land “is not compatible with the PGOU”. Pino also said that the mast “is not in the plan for the implantation of antennas”, which is why he is calling for the town hall to look for locations in suitable areas, as he told Cadena Ser radio in the Axarquía.