The early 2000s with the brick bubble inflating rapidly saw many illegal moves by town halls across the country and Almuñécar was far from being an exception.

The early 2000s, with the brick bubble inflating rapidly, saw many suspect moves by town halls across the country and Almuñécar was far from being an exception.

Thanks to a development deal that was signed in 2005 by then Mayor Benavides,  just over 20 years later the Town Hall gets hit by a court order to pay out 20-million euros to the developer.

The project was the Torre Galera in Taramay, close to where Hotel Playacálida now stands. It depended on an Urban development plan (PGOU)  that never ended up being approved. 

With assurances by the Town Hall that the PGOU would be approved very soon, the developer handed over close to 10-million euros in exchange for the Town Council doubling the buildable area of three plots. 

Now, after 20 years of fighting this in the courts, the Town Hall has come up against an immovable court decision to cough up not only the invested amount, but also the interest accrued since 2005. However, the sum that must be paid out is equivalent to half of the Town Halls annual income.

However, this agreement was part of a plan parcial (PGOU ammendment) which was dependent upon the revision and approval of the PGOU. 

That company, by the way, was later absorbed by developer giant, Inmobiliaria Osuna S.L., which filed and brought to a successful conclusion the lawsuit. 

One of the clauses in the agreement stated that in the event that the provincial authorities did not approve the revision of Almuñécar’s PGOU, the Town Hall had to return the amounts delivered by the company, plus interesty,  until the date of the total refund.” Nearly 20 years have passed since then, meaning legal interest has risen by another 10 million euros and continues to grow each day that the town takes to cough up.

The money provided by the developer was deposited into a municipal land-heritage account. This compensation was meant to be used exclusively for providing and improving the town’s facilities and infrastructure. During Benavides’ tenure, the funds were used despite regulations stating they couldn’t be, until the PGOU modification was definitively approved.

So, Mayor Ruiz Joya was quick to respond to the news, saying,  “I want to send a message of absolute reassurance to the townsfolk, but also one of harsh reality. The situation is critical; they have left the municipal treasury on the brink of collapse, but as long as I am mayor, the basic services of Almuñécar and La Herradura will not be touched. The cleaning, security, and care of our streets are guaranteed,” he assured.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

Keywords: Massive Pay Out, Town Hall, Development Company, PGOU Modification, Ex-Mayor Benavides, Brick Bubble, Taramay, La Galera

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