Andalusian regional government halts legalisation of 1,000 homes on rural land in Malaga

Two years ago, the city council approved the closure of the file for the regularisation of these scattered settlements, which comprise almost 1,000 homes, forwarding it to the regional government of Andalucía, which has the authority to give the final green light.

However, it was not until April that the regional government deemed the documentation in the file to be complete and correct, following several requests for corrections.

Finally, the regional ministry of housing has decided to suspend the final approval of the legalisation of these scattered dwellings and to return the document to the local council so that it can amend it and resubmit it for approval.

Consequently, the process that thousands of residents in rural areas have been waiting for for years has suffered another major delay. This impacts fundamental aspects of their daily lives, such as water supply. Had the regional government approved it, this regularisation plan would have enabled residents in these areas to request that the city council connect them to the city's water supply and sewerage network or seek an alternative.

However, for the time being, they will have to continue waiting. In its resolution, the regional government considers that the Los Carneros area does not meet the requirements for regularisation, "because this area is not integrated into the urban fabric". The regional government has asked the city council to "adequately justify its territorial and urban integration" and ensure "the adequacy of infrastructure, services and basic facilities".

As for the other 25 settlements in the document, the regional government considers that "the boundaries of each of the 25 areas have not been clearly and in detail substantiated in accordance with the legal concept of scattered rural settlements".

Furthermore, the regional ministry of housing has requested that the city council justify its compatibility with the protected areas of Los Montes de Málaga. "The city council must demonstrate, on a case-by-case basis, that the construction of new buildings on vacant plots is compatible with the current land classification."

Mechanisms must be put in place to prevent the "risk of urbanisation", the regional government warns. It calls for guarantees to ensure that "the strictly rural character of these settlements is maintained, preventing them from being transformed into urban structures".

Furthermore, the regional government considers that the technical proposal of the city council does not include the conditions set out in the reports from the regional ministry of culture, nor does it take into account the observations set out in the strategic environmental assessment.

The proposal provided for the regularisation of a total of 26 settlements comprising 840 dwellings near Campanillas and Santa Rosalía Maqueda, to the north of Puerto de la Torre and in the Los Montes area and the eastern district of the city.

In Campanillas, these are the scattered settlements of Locota San Antonio (190 homes), Costilla (19 homes), Los Arias (eleven), El Mallorquín (30), El Ciprés (13), Cortijo del Conde (33), Salinas (33), El Cerrillo (19), Cuesta del Cerrado (112), Casas de Lanza (15) and Matagatos (12), as well as the Los Carneros area (70). In the area around Puerto de la Torre, these are Los Vázquez (22 homes), Los Ruices (8) and El Mirlo (15).

In the Los Montes area and the easternmost part of the municipality, these include Los Negros (22 houses), Molinos de San Telmo (nine), Los Pintados (22), Cotrina (21), Valladares (19), Venta El Boticario (12), Venta El Detalle (48), Las Maravillas (18), La Pocaria (15), Las Tres Marías (15) and Altos de Jaboneros (37).

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