News Archive from Andalucia & Costa del Sol
In association with
Week March 28th to April 3rd
YACHTING BOOM FOR COSTA
A 300 per cent increase in moorings urgently needed
By David Eade
THE DEMAND FROM THE NAUTICAL SECTOR OF THE TOURISM MARKET ON THE COSTA DEL SOL IS REACHING UNPRECEDENTED FIGURES, WHICH CAN ONLY BE REMEDIED BY A DRASTIC UPGRADING OF THE FACILITIES.
Indeed the 11 ports on the coast that cater for yachts only have 4,200 mooring points between them. Figures issued by the Costa del Sol Tourist Authority suggest the Costa's ports would need to increase by 300 per cent the number of available mooring spaces just to satisfy the current requirements.
The Director-General of the Costa del Sol Tourism, Ana Gómez, said: "We are lacking many mooring points and because of this the waiting lists are tremendous." She went on to explain that due to the ports being at saturation point there was little benefit to be had from promotion. She endorsed the nautical tourism sector saying that it generated a good volume of business and presented a variety of activities.
The 4,200 moorings on the Costa del Sol represent 60 per cent of the total in Andalucía. The Coast also accounts for 5.5 per cent of all the moorings in Spain. The nautical tourism sector generated 70 million euros last year in the province of Málaga alone. The average age of tourists in this sector is between 41 and 50 years of age. Fifty-seven per cent are foreigners of whom 33 per cent are German, 28 per cent French and 22 per cent Britons.
IV SALÓN NÁUTICO IN BENALMÁDENA
Benalmádena, one of the coast's major yachting ports, will be hosting over the Easter weekend the IV Salón Náutico de la Costa del Sol at the Puerto Deportivo. Organisers confidently anticipate that 10,000 people will attend this major nautical event.
The show will have more than 25 exhibitors that will occupy two pavilions covering 2,000 square metres. Amongst the exhibits featured will be motorboats and yachts, jet skis, fishing kit, boating equipment plus clothing and fashion for boat users. There is also a special area where boats can be exhibited in the water.
The Mayor of Benalmádena, Enrique Bólin, is confident that the boat show will be a great success. He said that he was only too aware that the port area could not meet demand but was confident that the port would be enlarged in the coming months.
AVOID N-340 EASTER BLACK SPOT
Works on the dual carriageway cause 20-kilometre queues
By David Eade
TRAFFIC AUTHORITIES HAVE WARNED TRAVELLERS TO AVOID THE SECTION OF THE N-340 BETWEEN ESTEPONA AND GUADIARO THIS EASTER AS LONG QUEUES CAUSED BY CONSTRUCTION WORKS ON THE ROAD WILL PROBABLY WORSEN
With traffic not yet at its Easter peak queues of more than 20 kilometres have already been reported due to the intensive construction work carried out in order to have the major road works completed before the summer rush.
The stretch of road between Estepona and Guadiaro is now acknowledged as being the most serious black spot on the Spanish road network. Just 22 kilometres separate the town of Estepona from that of San Enrique de Guadiaro yet traffic has been taking well over an hour to complete the journey. The delays have also caused tailbacks beyond Estepona and Sotogrande.
3.3 MILLION CARS ON THE ROAD
Heavy construction equipment and lorries, which are working on turning this stretch of the N-340 into a dual carriageway, are mainly to blame for the delays. The news that 3.3 million cars will be on the move in Málaga Province over the Easter holiday means that delays on the N-340 could be very serious indeed. For information on traffic hold-ups readers can telephone 900 123505 and 952 041450.
POLICE INVESTIGATE FUNERAL WORKER
Gruesome discovery reopens illegal cremation fears
By Dave Jamieson
A former employee of a Málaga funeral parlour is under investigation by police following the discovery of body parts in his car and home. Guardia Civil officers on a routine vehicle check made the first gruesome find when they stopped the 40-year- old man as he drove on the A-357 in the Ardales area. Four plastic bags containing human remains were removed from the vehicle, and the suspect taken into detention. Officers then searched the man's home in the town where a total of three cadavers were discovered hidden under the patio.
According to the Guardia Civil, the arrested man worked until a few months ago for Funesur, a funeral parlour which has been previously implicated in the so-called incineration fraud. This deception, which came to light in 1997, involved 3000 bodies which were illegally cremated in Málaga. It is believed that some of the body parts discovered in the latest incident had come from as many as 20 corpses and had been hidden for several years.
The accused appeared in court in Málaga where he claimed that Funesur stored human remains more than five years old on their premises. He also alleged that an unknown number bodies, which should have been taken to Seville or Granada for cremation, were sometimes incinerated in Málaga instead. He was released without bail pending further enquiries.
RESIDENTS WIN GREEN ZONE BATTLE
By David Eade
RESIDENTS IN THE SAN PEDRO DE ALCÁNTARA AREA OF FUENTE NUEVA HAVE WON A BATTLE TO STOP A DEVELOPER BUILDING ON LAND DESIGNATED FOR GARDENS OR PARKS.
Residents took to the streets to protest after the constructor attempted to build 105 dwellings on land classified in the 1986 planning ordinance as a green zone. In the end, Marbella's Mayor Jesus Gil met with protestor's representatives and then sought a compromise with the property developer.
Now the company, Barral Puyules S.L., will be given a different parcel of land on which it will build 50 homes and will also receive compensation.
PUBLIC SQUARE INSTEAD
Marbella Town Hall has agreed to construct a public square and an underground parking area on the disputed Fuente Nueva site. Emilio Vallejo, a spokesperson for the residents said: "We have won a very hard and difficult battle thanks to the Town Hall".
NERJA COUNTERS BEACH THEFTS
News Staff Reporter
Nerja Town Hall wants to install safe-boxes on its beaches where valuables may be stored in an effort to reduce the incidence of thefts from bathers. The first lockers will be available at Maro, but plans to extend their use to other beaches on the municipality's coastline are on the way, beginning with Burriana, La Torrecilla and El Playazo.
FOREIGNER WORKERS INCREASE
The province of Málaga is second only to Almería in the number of foreigners with permission to work, 24,271 non-Spanish residents were registered for employment with the Social Security offices in December and January, a rise of 1.73 per cent on the previous figure. Málaga is now in ninth position in Spain, with Santa Cruz de Tenerife recording the highest incidence of foreign workers.