THE councils of two towns in the Axarquia mountain range are at the centre of state prosecutions into planning offences.
Juan Millán, the PSOE mayor of La Viñuela, faces up to 18 months in jail for allegedly granting licences to build three homes on green-belt land.
The public prosecutor in Málaga claims Millán, who also faces a 17-year suspension from holding public office, approved the illegal constructions around the Viñuela reservoir – an area popular with British residents – “conscious to the fact the land was protected.”
In justifying the constructions, the socialist council leader had claimed the private homes were intended for “social interests.”
Meanwhile, the former mayor of Cómpeta has been barred from holding public office for seven years.
Leovigildo López, who also received a 2,000-euro fine, awarded a licence for a nine-storey building on non-urban land.
According to a court in Málaga, López passed the construction despite reports from the town’s technical architect warning him of its illegality.
As reported in the Olive Press (Strength in Numbers, issue 42), the regional government has already ruled that various homes throughout the Axarquia region were built illegally and face demolition.
