News
Hermitage conservation
Ring road from Vélez to Fuengirola
A € 60,000 conservation and maintenance project is to be carried out at the 15th century San Roque hermitage in Torrox . General cleaning with aluminium silicate projection will be carried out on the façade , layers of lime will be removed to recover the original base , and some areas will be restored with the most similar brick available today . Inside , the chapel roof will be cleaned and moisture removed .
Priest street
A former parish priest in El Morche has had a street named after him . Salvador Gil Canto worked in the town from 2001 to 2008 on his first assignment , during which time he “ revolutionised ” the community , according to deputy mayor María de los Ángeles Ruiz . Dozens of his former parishioners turned out last month to watch him unveil the new name of the street : Calle Párroco Salvador Gil Canto .
Castle visitors
Plans have been announced to open a visitor centre next to the remains of the Nasrid castle in Torre del Mar . The building to be used in the Plaza de Andalucía is presently under private ownership and Vélez-Málaga Town Hall says it intends to acquire and develop it . For years , local people have been calling for such a facility to be opened to explain the town ’ s history .
Plans for a new ring road connecting Vélez-Málaga with Fuengirola have taken another step forward as meetings get underway with municipal representatives . The proposal for such a link , which would also give improved access to the Guadalhorce valley area , was first suggested in 2017 by the Mayor of Málaga , Francisco de la Torre .
Sixteen municipalities would be affected by the construction of the planned highway which aims to decongest the existing road network . Estimates suggest that a third of current traffic would divert onto the new ring road , which will be a toll road . Construction costs are presently set at € 1,050 million .
Plans have already been assessed in economic and technical feasibility studies which are reported to have addressed some of the initial doubts raised by various town halls . These
News briefs
Officer honoured
A local police officer in Nerja has been awarded the Order of Merit for saving the life of a young man . In December 2019 , Miguel Alberto García Fernández persuaded the man not to carry out his intention to jump off the Aguila Aqueduct in Maro . The award from the Policía Local de Andalucía said the officer had not hesitated to act for a moment , despite the danger which existed .
Church cleanup
Services at Nerja ’ s El Salador church had to be moved last month to allow workers to remove mould and fungal growth on the interior walls . Services were held temporarily in the building owned by one of the town ’ s brotherhoods . The whole interior of the church near the Balcón de Europa was also painted during the three week closure .
Restriction eased
The recreation area at El Pinarillo in reports are now being presented to councillors in all the municipalities through which the new road would pass with the intention of developing an agreement which can be presented to the necessary authorities .
The ring road around Málaga would pass through Alhaurín de la Torre , Alhaurín el Grande , Almogía , Álora , Cártama , Coín , Fuengirola , Marbella , Mijas , Moclinejo , Monda , Ojén , Pizarra , Rincón de la Victoria , Totalán and Vélez-Málaga . Representatives of the Junta de Andalucía and the Diputación de Málaga are also present at these meetings .
If the plan goes ahead , the first stretch of the new road to be built will tackle the congestion between Vélez-Málaga and the city of Málaga via Rincón de la Victoria . The existing road link is one of those which has shown the highest increase in traffic levels in Spain in recent years .
Nerja re-opened to the public last month . Since November last year , access was prohibited to avoid crowds gathering during the Covid pandemic . Environment councillor Javier Rodríguez pointed out that similar restrictions remaining elsewhere in the area of the Sierras Tejeda Natural Park , Alhama and Almijara Natural Park are the responsibility of the Junta de Andalucía .
Athletics host
Nerja will be the official venue of Spain ’ s Absolute Athletics Championship next summer . The event , to be based at the Enrique López Cuenca Stadium between June 24 and 26 , will be the first time the event has been held in the province since 2011 when Málaga city was the host . Over 600 elite athletes from across Spain will compete for places at the World Championship to be held in Eugene , Oregon , in July , and the European Championship in Munich in August .
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