Tourist flat fever in Malaga: two new projects in Trinidad district
In February, the urban planning department authorised new complexes on Calle Carril and Calle Malasaña, which will join an already doubled demand
The fever to build and refurbish buildings in Malaga to enable new tourist apartment complexes continues at an all-time high. As SUR has reported, last year, the municipal urban planning department doubled the number of permits for this type of projects and it continues authorising new proposals on a monthly basis.
In addition, last year saw the Trinidad district gain a lot of prominence, with projects expanding from the city centre to other areas. In February this year, the city council authorised two new projects in this part of Malaga: one on Calle Carril 24 (four flats) and another on Calle Malasaña 36 (nine flats).
Criticism from the opposition: "Residential plots are running out"
Mariano Ruiz - a councillor from the local opposition - has criticised the city council for authorising tourist projects that steal plots that could be used for residential buildings.
"These projects circumvent the moratorium on tourist flats and exhaust residential plots, further increasing tourist saturation and aggravating the housing crisis. We wonder what the mayor is waiting for to push for measures," Ruiz said.
"We have to be tough with this phenomenon or we run the risk of Malaga ending up being just a city of transit, sacrificing locals to attract tourists," he stated.
This 'boom' in tourist flat projects comes at a time when the local government team has been working since August last year on a modification of the general urban development plan (PGOU). The aim is to regulate tourist uses in the city and limit the proliferation of tourist flat complexes and hotels of fewer than four stars.
However, this first step has not yet led to the regulation of flats, hostels and hotels of a lower category. The city council has not announced a date for it either.
