Nerja held a Plenary Meeting of the Town Council on Thursday and the top subject was what is happening between the Vega de Maro and Larios.

On the one hand there is the Plataforma por Maro y su Agricultura (AMA), together with Ecologistas en Accion, and on the other, the PP Mayor with his absolute majority in the Council, so lines are drawn over The Sociedad Azucarera Larios and its plans to build luxury dwellings and hotels on land until recently occuppied by land tenants. 

As far as AMA and the ecologists are concerned, the Town Hall is sitting on its hands instead of taking action against alleged excesses carried out by Larios. The Mayor, José Alberto Armijo, said that the Town Council is acting legally and “defending general interest, as opposed to the interests of the powerful.”

Things started in January when the company, having refused to renew land leases because bulldozing small dwellings on their 1.3-million sq/m of land.

AMA stated that Larios was undertaking land-clearance work without “administrative and environmental guarantees.” They claimed that there is no record of inspections, environmental studies, or disciplinary proceedings, despite considering that what the company is doing is without the necessary licences, authorisations, or environmental approvals.

We have already run an article on the recent arrests of two protesters at the scene of trees being felled near the Barranco de Maro, next to the aqueduct monument.

GENA-Ecologistas en Acción pointed out that the demolition of homes and irrigation channel, as well as the felling of trees, was all part of preparing the land for the construction of 500 luxury dwellings, three hotels, and an 18-hole golf course, which has yet to have the necessary permits, etc.

The land in the actual General Urban Development Plan is classified as greenbelt or ‘non-building land.’ The Town Hall intends to adjust the PGOU so that the company can go ahead with the development.

Councilor for Urban Planning, José Alberto Tomé (PP), said that it would be necessary to study “the legality of the actions of both parties” and specified that it was looking into whether the tree felling was “agricultural activity;” i.e., legal.

As for the Mayor, he said, “The way I see it right now, is that Maro is an agricultural Maro,” adding that it “will continue to be a pillar of Nerja’s economy.” He didn’t specify deadlines, however.

What about the sugar company, Larios? They have defended on previous occasions that its goal is to recover an “orderly and professional” agricultural use of the land after terminating around 400 lease contracts.

(News: Maro, Axarquía, Costa del Sol, Malaga, Andalucia – Source: E. Cabezas/Sur)

Keywords: Maro Vega Dispute, Sociedad Azucarera Larios, Tenants, Land Lease, Tree Felling, Plenary Meeting, Town Council, Mayor Armijo, AMA, Ecologists

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