David Eade

Planning for western Costa population of 1.7 million by 2015

The regional governments minister for public works, Conception Guitiérrez, has presented a draft town planning ordinance for the western Costa Del Sol that she says will be totally transparent for the property industry and also protect 70% of the land in the zone.
The ordinance, known as the ‘Plan de Ordenación Territorial de la Costa del Sol Occidental’, makes provision a projected population of 1.7 million people by 2015 in the area between Fuengirola and Manilva. If that growth is achieved it would be a doubling of the existing population.
The government’s plan will make the existing toll motorway the barrier beyond which new construction will not be allowed. The minister says that in the area between the motorway and the coastal strip there is “sufficient capacity to accommodate the predicted population.”

In addition, a ‘Corredor marítimo’ will be created to prevent construction less than 50 metres from the shoreline. No beach activity or construction such as deckchair zones, beach bars or water-sport concessions will be allowed without government permission. The sand dunes of Artola, covering 170,000 square metres, are included in this corridor, as well as 27 other points from the Fuengirola to Estepona.

The plan also calls for the creation of 14 coastal parks. In addition, north of the toll motorway, the plan envisages the doubling of the existing protected green space to create a series of ‘grand parks of the mountains’. There is also protection for the Guadiaro River valley, deemed to be of high agricultural value.
The new plan is about to be published in the regional government’s official bulletin (BOJA) and thereafter will be available for public review. The Ministry of Public Works says it will be ready for approval and passage into law by Easter next year.

POPULATION GROWTH
The regional government is estimating the following population growth by 2015 for each of the municipalities included in the plan. Benahavís: current estimated actual population, 8,367; projected 2015 population, 67,701. Casares: current, 6,714; projected, 37,636. Estepona: current, 91,882; projected, 316,347. Fuengirola: current, 121,000; projected, 205,311. Istán: current, 1,789; projected, 8,192. Manilva: current, 17,602; projected, 121,788. Marbella: current, 250,887; projected, 514,212. Mijas: current, 114,229; projected, 475,728. And Ojén: current, 3,906; projected, 23,661