Nerja Town Council has reactivated its plans to permit an 18-hole, golf course and housing on land situated near the Maro A-7 junction.
To do this the Town Council has to recategorise 250 hectares of land on which the old factory, belonging to Sociedad Azucarera Larios S.A. sits; i.e., the Vega de Tetuán.
It is this company that wants to build 680 luxury dwelling as part of their golf-course project. The plan also includes hotels.
The project has been published in the Official Provincial Gazette (BOP) but the Lock Down has frozen the 20-day limit within which to submit objections to the scheme.
The Junta would need to accept an adjustment to the standing PGOU (General Urban Development Plan) which governs what the Town Hall can and cannot do with land within the municipality. A new development sector would be brought into being on the Pago de Las Mercedes entitled, La Fábrica, destined as an area “touristic-recreational development.” and “Maro Golf.”
Amongst the land that once belonged to Larios but now belongs to the Town Hall are the plots for a fire station, a medical centre, as well as land along the banks of Río Chillar and for 16 different pieces of land for the future paseo on El Playazo.
In April 2015 the Mayor, Alberto Armijo, just weeks before the municipal elections, put forward this same plan but it did not prosper as he lost the Mayoralty. The incoming council (a tripartite arrangement) did little to further it other than make alterations. However, now that Sr. Armijo is back in the driving seat, he is determined to push it through.
As for how people feel about it, the ecologists are against it as it will obliterate the last undeveloped stretch of Axarquía coastline, they feel. They are backed by the political party Otra Nerja y Maro es Posible. On the other hand, a group that supports it came into being on social media entitled, Maro Golf, Proyecto Turístico de Gran Calado para Nuestro Municipio.
At present, the land is categorised as “non-building land”. Furthermore, the Junta wishes to preserve the old sugar-factory building, Azucarera San Joaquín, which goes back to the 19th Century. The project intends to turn it into a top-quality hotel.
Finally, the accord signed between Larios and the Town Hall will remain valid until its objectives are obtained. However, there is a clause that permits Larios to scrap it unilaterally, if the project does not receive definitive administrative approval before the 30th of August this year.
(News: Nerja/Maro, Axarquia, Costa del Sol, Malaga, Andalucia – Photo: E. Cabezas)
Imagine how the atmosphere will change, another materialistic move to make Nerja just a place for the rich and bored.
No more authentic energy to enjoy of what was the old Nerja, just destroy another part of it to gain money from tourists!
What about the Locals? What about Nature? Have people in this lockdown still not realized how precious nature is for us? How important to be sustainable, to grow your local foods and have a community of people co-creating with Nature?
Yes! An eco and enviromental aproach is very welcome! Cleaning the area, no more plastic, asbestos and spraying of Roundup and other chemicals! Caring for our bees, birds and ecosystem!
What do the local people think about it? And the tourists?
I have been talking with people from all kinds of professions and all of them where saying, “Nerja doesnt need Golf.”
Nerja is beautiful as it is. Nerja doesnt want more hotels and less space for local people, we need this area to stay protected, the ruin of the sugar factory and all the land around… unspoiled beaches, unique places for walking and agricultur, it is all a part of our beautiful town.
I will move away from here if this place is to be destroyed for a golf course! It is just profit for the unsensitive rich!
You can sign here : noalplanlarios.wixsite.com/plataforma/manifiesto-firmas
ps sign here if you prefer boniatos to golfers!
https://noalplanlarios.wixsite.com/plataforma
A reply for William , from one of the many people practicing organic agriculture in the area. I am opposed to the development as it would :
destroy the singular character of the place, built on hundreds of years of agricultural tradition
swap food production (organic or not, it’s still essential) for lawns for rich tourists
and yes, mean losing the land I have put so much effort into developing
destroy the thriving community which is not readily visible from outside
I am completely in agreement that the plastic debris is unacceptable and that there are major improvements and opportunities to be had with eco tourism that is respectful of the land and it’s culture. I just think a golf course, organic or otherwise, is absolutely not the way forward.
The “otro maro y nerja es posible” has a list of 10 proposals, I am most interested in 8-10 personally.
Estas son las propuestas;
1.- Desvincular del ‘Convenio urbanístico entre Ayuntamiento de Nerja y la Sociedad Azucarera Larios, S.A.’ los apartados relativos a las deudas contraídas por el Consistorio nerjeño con la empresa, de los Planes de Desarrollo Urbanísticos en la zona de Maro propuesto por SALSA. Un Ayuntamiento endeudado no puede cambiar deudas por favores urbanísticos y recalificaciones de suelos.
2.- Auditoría de la deuda realizada por la Plataforma de Auditoría Ciudadana de la Deuda (PACD) para que se verifique la cuantía reclamada por SALSA. Una vez verificada hacer un plan de pago que no perjudique los intereses públicos ni provoque recortes sociales.
3.- No modificar las protecciones contempladas en el vigente Plan General de Ordenación Urbanística de Nerja (PGOU) y el Plan Especial de Protección del Sitio Histórico Paraje Pintoresco de Maro (PEPSHPPM) en la zona para adaptarlo a las necesidades urbanísticas de SALSA.
4.- Añadir al Catálogo de Bienes Protegidos del PGOU los restos arquitectónicos del ‘Pabellón’ de los Pérez del Pulgar, en el Pago de las Mercedes, y toda la superficie de la parcela en la que se encuentra, pasando a formar parte del PGOU como Sistemas Generales de Áreas Libres y Uso Social.
5.- Realizar un Plan Especial de Protección (PEP) para el ‘pago de las Mercedes’. La zona contiene numerosos bienes patrimoniales de interés, tales como la fábrica San Joaquín, el Pabellón, los senderos y el antiguo camino a Almuñécar, la calzada romana Cástulo-Malaca, las acequias y conducciones de agua de riego y la histórica parcelación del terreno. Consideramos que el ‘Pago de las Mercedes y Maro’ es un ‘Paisaje de Interés Cultural Andaluz’ (PICA) vinculado a la producción agrícola e industrial desde hace más de 400 años. Los límites del pago son: al este, el barranco de Maro; al oeste, el barranco de Burriana; al sur, el mar; y al norte, el antiguo camino de Málaga a Almuñécar.
6.- Aplicar las determinaciones que contiene el PGOU relativas a las expropiaciones de la Casa de la Marquesa en Maro, el ingenio de Maro o Armengol y la fábrica de San Joaquín. Estos bienes patrimoniales una vez puesto en valor y asignado uso serían un atractivo más para el desarrollo de un turismo medioambiental y cultural que, sin duda, revitalizaría la economía de Maro al convertirse en punto de partida para el senderismo cultural, rural y de montaña, con un Centro de Interpretación de nuestros valores naturales y culturales.
7.- Realización de un sendero integrado y adaptado a la orografía del terreno que conecte Burriana con la Torre de Maro, tal y como permite el Plan de Protección del Corredor Litoral de Andalucía (PPCLA), utilizando los senderos tradicionales siempre que fuera posible. La parcela del Pabellón, al mismo borde del acantilado, actuaría como excepcional mirador escénico de uso público recreativo. Los miradores que contempla el PEPSHPN-Maro complementaria la ruta escénica del sendero.
8.- Obligar a Larios a realizar la limpieza, preservar las condiciones de salubridad y evitar el chabolismo en toda la zona, que actualmente se encuentra gravemente deteriorada por su dejadez e intencionalidad. Así mismo, reclamamos a las administraciones competentes que lo obliguen a cumplir las normativas en estas materias.
9.- Negociar con Larios la desprecarización de los contratos de arrendamientos de las parcelas agrícolas (actualmente de nueve meses) y ampliarla por un periodo suficiente para que la inversión realizada por los arrendatarios sea rentable. Autorizar la plantación de árboles subtropicales.
10.- Instalación en la zona norte del pago, lindando con la autovía, de un depósito y almacén para el reciclado de restos vegetales de poda y residuos biológicos procedente de la labor agrícola.
Creación de una Oficina de Información y Ayuda a los agricultores sobre nuevos cultivos; búsquedas de ayuda a cooperativas, y oferta de huertos periurbanos de economía social. Creación de una red de productores y consumidores de productos ecológicos.
I have a question for all you that are opposing the development of the land. Is it the development or the possibility of you losing your land that is your main focus?
The influx of revenue to the local economy as well as taxes for the Ayuntamiento and the Junta should be encouraged. On the other hand, it cannot be a normal Salsa development project since they care only about quick builds and not trying to integrate the development into its surroundings.
I’m all for organic horticulture but how many are actually doing it at there parcels in that area? It’s not a place of beauty with plastic debris as on some of the farmland and It would be great to aspire to do the development of eco-houses and an organic golf course.
Horrible news
I’m very concerned about these plans. Along with several friends, I’ve been growing organic food on an allotment which would be threatened by any new building/development around Maro. I’d like to communicate with others who have similar concerns to see what can be done to preserve the beauty and importance of this natural area.