This is the new shopping centre to be built opposite Plaza Mayor in Malaga

Seven years of proceedings have had to pass before the project to build a shopping centre on a plot at the eastern end of the row of houses that runs parallel to the Guadalmar dual carriageway, opposite the Plaza Mayor shopping and leisure centre, has been given the green light at urban planning level. The project received final approval from the city hall at this month's plenary urban planning committee and the promoters can now apply for permission to start building work on the centre.

This new commercial area is mainly being developed by the company Verificación Técnica de Obras, which took over the initial developer, Inmuebles Playmont, and has the technical advice of the architect Ángel Asenjo's studio. The urban development operation covers a total surface area of 9,872 square metres, although this includes a strip of green area of 3,537 square metres, located to the south of Calle Campo de Golf.

As explained by the city planning manager, José Cardador, at last week's meeting, this green zone will be obtained by the provincial authority, who will in turn cede it to the Guadalmar golf course to extend its surface area. One of the charges to be borne by the developers of the shopping centre is to demolish the structure of a vacant building that exists in the green zone. According to Cardador, the urbanisation works included in this project will cost around 243,000 euros, plus some 100,000 euros in external charges.

The future two-storey shopping centre, designed by Ángel Asenjo's studio, will have a height of nine metres in total, and will cover a built area of 3,366 square metres. It will also have 21 surface parking spaces and 127 in the basement.

The intention of the promoters is to develop a "small shopping centre, containing premises for local commerce, food, restaurants and leisure, with two floors of enclosed buildings and a large roof terrace with splendid views".

"The recent consolidation of the area in which this plot is located encourages its development in the short term," the sources consulted by SUR said. In fact, the start of sporting activity in the first phase of La Academia del Málaga has given value to this area next to the Arraijanal site, where the Junta de Andalucía is still awaiting the creation of a metropolitan park.

The urban planning process for this shopping centre to see the light of day has been extensive, with a pandemic in between. It had to obtain reports from Spain's ministry of transport, from the regional Junta de Andalucía authority (in relation to the risk of flooding of the land) and from civil aviation authorities, due to its proximity to the airport. In addition, the residents of the houses adjoining the plot opposed the opening of restaurants with music in the shopping centre (pubs, karaoke bars, tablaos, discotheques, nightclubs or similar) "that harm the conditions of residential habitability of the area and, in turn, considerably diminish the market value of the properties", as noted in the allegation sent to city planning department.

As a result of this letter, a section was incorporated into the project to expressly mark as "incompatible" this type of hospitality business with music, as this is contemplated in the urban development regulations for "areas of urban land with a predominance of residential use". The residents of the Vega de Oro urbanisation also requested that the shopping centre should not have windows or balconies on the facades facing the houses in order to guarantee the "privacy" of its inhabitants. However, this other allegation was rejected by the city hall because there is no article in the General Plan that prevents this with a distance between facades of five metres, "as it is understood that this distance is sufficient for the maintenance of privacy". "It should be pointed out that there are some streets in the municipality that have widths equal to or even less than this dimension", it has been noted in the technical report of the urban planning department.