James Warren
ANOTHER stretch of the Andalucian coastline has been opened up to developers thanks to a €3.5 million compensation payout by the local council.
The coastal resort of Torrox has been left at the mercy of a 30 year lawsuit that has cost the town the majority of its annual budget.
The case stems from the unlawful dismissal of former municipal tax collector Antonio Barragan back in 1989.
He raised a lawsuit to contest his dismissal and finally was compensated in May of this year to the tune of €4.7 million.
€1.2 million was paid to Barragan throughout the case, but the remaining balance was left at the hands of Torrox mayor Oscar Medina and the Torrox town council.
Large areas of land surrounding Torrox were set aside as insurance for the compensation payment.
Medina, a trained and practising lawyer until 2011, said the case was a ‘farce’ and ‘loaded with nonsense that has left the interests of residents defenseless.’
However thanks to alterations to the municipal budget, Medina has managed to allocate the €3.5 million without the use of the available land.
This has meant that three parcels of land are now to be unlocked and to begin the proposal process for new developments.
The areas include a plot next to the Calaceite Playa, which has been set aside for the construction of an 18-hole golf course and a new marina, along with space for 3,157 residential homes and a hotel.
There is also permission currently being processed for a much needed mortuary in the Santa Rosa los Llanos area.
For its construction, the land will be exchanged directly from Malaga based land owners Larios SL.
If these projects go ahead, it will be the second large development of its kind within a 15 minute drive, thanks to the ongoing controversial Golf Project in neighbouring Maro, as well as the struggling Baviera Golf resort in Caleta de Velez.
