The shanty houses in Torre del Mar e. cabezas

Vélez-Málaga demands 'urgent solution' for Torre del Mar shanty houses

Around 100 people live in the area without proper connections to water, sewage or electricity

Thursday, 17 November 2022, 08:07

The Casillas de la Vía shanty houses at the entrance to Torre del Mar on the N-340 road, near Mercadona and the land used for the Weekend Beach music festival, are the last of their kind in the Axarquía. The houses are home to more than a hundred people, from children to elderly people who live without proper connection to running water, sewage or electricity.

After several decades of unfulfilled promises and failed attempts, Vélez-Málaga town hall has once again demanded that the Junta de Andalucía, as owner of the land where the houses are located, provide an "urgent solution" for the families that live there. The deputy mayor of Torre del Mar, Jesús Pérez Atencia, announced that his party will bring a proposal to the next council meeting scheduled for the end of November.

"We do it in a gesture of responsibility and, once again, in the face of the passivity of the administrations and higher authorities who continue to look the other way in the face of this problem and offer from the town hall our total willingness to collaborate,” Atencia said. He added, "It is not acceptable that at the end of 2022 and requests after requests from the town hall, no action has yet been taken on the problem of the shanty houses."

Pérez Atencia added that "if we look at Malaga, our forecasts are pessimistic, as in the area of Los Asperones they are in the same conditions, waiting for the Junta to do something that, at the moment, it is not happening. We can't stand it any longer. The people who live in Las Casillas can't stand it any longer. The children and their families need to get out of there and together we have to find an urgent solution. We have waited long enough and we need a response from those responsible, from the competent administrations", he insisted.

Finally, Pérez Atencia added that "that is why we are going to take to the plenary again the fact of urging the Junta for a definitive rehousing for these families. We cannot tolerate any more excuses, or any more explanations. If, as the president of the Junta says that this year the social budget has increased, we are going to allocate it to those who need it most. I hope that once the proposal is approved by the town hall, we can follow it up based on the urgency so that, once and for all, a solution is given to these families".