Village of the dead

April 17, 2009  •  Malaga  •  3 Comments

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Still no sewage works, but mayor of smallest district in Malaga wants to build thousands of houses and a golf course …. over the cemetery

A MAYOR from the supposedly green IU party has denied he is planning a golf course scheme in Arriate, the smallest district in Malaga province.

Bernardino Gaona has also come under heavy criticism over plans to build over the local cemetery.

In total, he wants to increase the size of the town by 80 per cent and build 1,000 new homes mostly on green spaces.

The plan has been provisionally passed even though the town still does not have a sewage works. This is in breach of a 2005 law preventing the dumping of raw sewage in rivers.

Environmental group Ecologistas en Accion has condemned the scheme as ‘unfeasible and illogical’.

The plans not only propose double the amount of housing in the small town of 4,000 people, but, at just nine kilometres square, locals insist there is absolutely no room for a golf course.

The plans would increase the size of Arriate by 80 per cent, despite the law preventing growth by more than 40 per cent.

Many houses will be built in self-contained areas outside of the town, as well as on top of the existing cemetery.

“This shows a lack of respect for the public cemetery and the dead,” said Ecologistas spokesman Alejandro Moreno.

“And it shows there are still mayors in Andalucia who think that bricks are the only solution to energise the economy. Cement and bricks are not the answer.”

Double standards

Referring to the golf course, Moreno accused the IU mayor of double standards for rejecting golf course plans in Ronda while leaving the door open for a future course in Arriate.

He added that it was a disgrace that the town still did not have a sewage works despite receiving 60,000 euros to build it in January 2008.

The deputy mayor Salvador Cabrera insisted that there was no space for the golf course inside the small town.

And, with reference to building homes on the cemetery, he said: “We are working closely with guidelines from the Ministry of Health.”

Pressure Group AUN has compiled a list which claims that there are currently over 60 golf courses under construction or approved in Andalucia.

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