Wendy WilliamsIT is, without a doubt, one of the best sights in Malaga.
And now a new deal has been struck with Malaga town hall, to keep the English Cemetery alive.
Following a high-level meeting between Malaga mayor Francisco de la Torre and former British consul Bruce McIntyre, the Junta has agreed to put up the money needed to keep the monument open.
The procedure to grant the cemetery Bien de Interes Cultural (BIC) status has been fast-tracked which means it can now apply for public funding.
“This is very encouraging for the cemetery,” said McIntyre.
“It might not save the day completely, but it should stave off the wolf from the door for the next few months while we seek more permanente solutions.”
Despite recently setting up the English Cemetery in Malaga Foundation, presided over by McIntyre, it was still desperately short of the necessary funds needed in order to stay open.
Last week McIntyre feared that if the money could not be found the cemetery, which first opened in 1831, would have to be closed.
“It will be a terrible shame if we end up losing such a fantastic site with such a rich history,” he said.
“But the plans to save it involve other institutions and all the residents of Malaga, not just the British, who are in smaller numbers in the capital than on the coast.”
Other schemes in place to save the first burial ground for Protestants in Spain include enrolling in the Cemetery Association which promotes tourist routes around burial sites in Spain.
It has proven successful in the case of the San Jose cemetery in Granada which joined in 2008 and has since received more than 25,000 visitors
Interesting Historic site… but abit stiff. If you’ve seen it once, you’ve seen it period so that limits attendance. It needs better marketing and a program for contributions from the public & visitors. Otherwise, it will close since it cannot depend on financial support from the cash-strapped government. There are many LIVING who can’t get adequate support from the Government.