Marbella mayor comments on new urban plan

Comments: Closed Saturday, February 20, 2010

There are two images of Marbella: one, that of a town where irregular construction has been made legal; the other, a town where local residents protest that they have not been taken into consideration. Which one is the closest to reality?

Both images are real, but the truth is that not all the negative effects can be allowed to fall on third parties who acted in good faith. We realized that the town had to re-equip itself and, at the same time, protect the assets of these third parties. In the end we have drawn up a model which, although it doesn’t fulfill everything we had wished for, one hundred per cent, is at any rate a fair system for the town.

Would it have been possible to approve the Plan with the previous Minister?

I believe the present Minister is much more in favor of dialogue, somebody with whom you can draw up plans together, and I have had a very good understanding with him. More so than his predecessor, who had different ideas. She had announced that demolition was the only way forward for Marbella, and we didn’t feel the same way.

With the Plan approved, are you going to be more forceful with the Junta in the future?

No. I will say the things I have to say and I will claim the investment we need, but I will continue to maintain the same professional relationship which I have had with each of the advisers. And I will suggest to president Griñán that we hold a meeting to find out what the Junta is planning with regard to investment and to unblock many of the projects which couldn’t be carried out before because there was no Plan.

This doesn’t seem to be the best time to obtain private investment.

With no Plan it would have been impossible to achieve any recovery. Now we can begin to see how to regenerate construction, how to develop some areas, and this also means on a personal level because now a family can apply for a mortgage which they would not have been granted before because their house wasn’t legal. All this will have a positive influence, but we can’t forget the situation we are in here in Andalucía and in Spain, with more than four million people unemployed, and with an international perception, which is what worries me most, which is very negative for Spain. And that, when it comes to foreign investment, is going to affect us very negatively. This legislature has been the worst possible, although at our Town Hall, and within our responsibilities, we are managing to do the impossible.
What are your priorities when it comes to managing the Plan?
We have two fundamental questions. On one hand, the legalisation of properties. We are already working on what form the model should take and how we can help families to obtain first occupation licences. For us, the people, the citizens, the residents, were our first priority when we drew up the Plan. It is also fundamental to acquire land for services. In the areas which are to be developed we are negotiating for anticipated transfer of land so the works can begin as soon as possible. The administrations are going to have to invest here for a long time, especially the Junta. They didn’t do so before because the adequate land didn’t exist. We want to speed up the acquisition of that land so we can demand that the projects be carried out.
Will illegal properties automatically be made legal, or will people have to sort out these compensations?
It will depend, because there are different degrees. We will present a model whereby those people who ask for a first occupation licence can have one, irrespective of whatever future compensations may be. This will be sorted out as quickly as possible.
What will you do about developers who don’t comply with the planned compensations?
Those developers who are interesting in complying with the charges imposed under the Plan immediately will have help from the Town Hall in organizing the legalization. For the others, the Plan allows a certain period of time. They can do it voluntarily during the first year and if they fail to do so, then the Town Hall will take over.
What will happen with the properties which are not made legal? Will those which are occupied and those which aren’t be treated the same way?
There will be differences. At the moment, in the case of properties which are under construction and are not covered by the Plan, we will have to reach an agreement with the developer. Each case will have to be studied individually, to see if there is an agreement, whether money has been paid to the Town Hall, if compensation has to be paid to the town or whether it is the Town Hall which has to do so. In some cases, if it is possible to convert them into green areas or open spaces, many of these charges will be passed to areas of future development.
Are you going to knock down any buildings?
All those which are in green zones will have to be demolished, because they just can’t be there. Those which are in a services area, we will have to see if they can be converted because then we avoid the cost of having to knock them down and rebuild. There are some areas, like the building which is beside the hospital, where there is no room for services and, anyway, it is a green zone, so that will have to be knocked down.
Which public investments does the council consider to be the most important?
We are going to put a great deal of pressure on, although we know that it costs the Junta a lot of effort to invest in Marbella. The Junta de Andalucía doesn’t consider this town to be a priority. It never has done. To give an example, there are still the same three health centres in Marbella and San Pedro as when I was a doctor. I started work in the San Pedro health centre in 1986, and it is the same now. Education, the justice system, the same. Under the Plan, the Junta has to invest 70 million euros a year. We will do our best to make sure that it isn’t too difficult for them to do so.
There are some strategic investments planned, such as the coastal railway and the extensión of the port, is that not so?
And Holanducía, Guadaiza… these are investments which were not foreseen. That is the problem. The port project will be carried out, because that is prívate investment. Unfortunately, we won’t see the rest come to light in this legislature.
What about municipal investment?
Under the Plan, the council will invest 12million euros a year in services and infrastructure, but our objective is to go further than that. One of our priorities is to improve our coastline.
What is your next objective, after the Plan is approved?
At the beginning of this legislature we had three objectives: to improve the economic situation, the Plan General and institutional recovery. What I intend to do now is fulfill my electoral programme. I made promises to local residents, district by district, and we are going to go out of our way to fulfil them so that next year, when I stand for election again, I will be able say that I kept my promises to local people.

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