No good news for
Vélez trams
A decision by the regional government
has dashed hopes of Vélez-Málaga’s
mothballed tram service attracting a
larger subsidy when and if it ever is
restarted. The municipality asked to be
put an equal footing with Jaén where
the tranvía operation receives a 75 per
cent subsidy, compared with the 40 per
cent offered to Vélez.
The town hall had applied for the
system to be classified as being of
“metropolitan interest,” but the Junta
de Andalucía announced last month
that it did not qualify. Public Works
minister Felipe Lopez said the Vélez
tranvía, in which the Junta invested
€30 million, is municipal in character
and cannot be considered to be
metropolitan or intercity.
Negotiations therefore continue
between Vélez Town Hall, the
concession holder Alsa and the regional
government on whether or not it will
be possible to get the trams running
At the centre of the operation was a
Catalan company suspected of fraud in
the supply of traffic management
systems invoiced at inflated prices and
investigators wanted to examine
documents from the period 2010-11.
The probe began in 2016 and charges
of forgery, bribery, and membership of
criminal gangs are expected to be
brought. Around 40 detentions are
reported to have been made nationally
including mayors, councillors and
police chiefs.
In Vélez, the local police chief, José
Andrés Montoya, was detained at
home before 8.00am and taken for
questioning. Reports say he
maintained his right not to answer
Local police from Vélez-Málaga have
removed a two metre long snake from
a garden in Benajarafe. Residents in the
area of calle Manuel de Falla say they
have complained for some time about
the presence of rats in the area. They
claim empty and unattended plots of
land are ideal nesting areas for both
reptiles and rodents.
Record mangos
Tranvia at Vélez-Málaga
between Vélez and Torre del Mar. Not
least is a decision on who will pay the
estimated €1.5 million which will be
needed for repairs and refurbishment
after the system lay unmaintained
since it closed in 2012.
The mayor of Vélez-Málaga, says he is
continuing to work towards the
relaunch of the tranvía, describing it as,
“an essential element” in the
municipality. Antonio Moreno Ferrer
added that several lines of negotiation
remain open.
Vélez-Málaga caught in
nationwide fraud probe
The offices of the municipal police in
Vélez-Málaga were raided by National
Police early one morning at the
beginning of July. The action by the
Economic and Fiscal Crime unit was
one of similar surprise visits in over 20
municipalities across Spain.
Snake captured
questions put to him by investigators.
The mayor of Vélez, Antonio Moreno
Ferrer, said later that no political office
had been investigated and that by mid-
morning everything was “back to
normal.” He stressed that there was no
other person under investigation and
that the Vélez local government had no
links to any contract or service
supplied by the Catalan firm being
probed.
Police attacked
A 42-year-old man has been handed a
prison sentence of seven and a half
years by a Málaga court for assaulting
two police officers. He was found guilty
of the attack in June 2016 in which one
local officer was struck with a bottle
while the defendant tried throw the
other off a bridge. The Provincial
Court heard the man suffered from
chronic psychiatric disorders, for
which he was undergoing treatment at
the time, which affected his faculties
but without annulling them.
9
It’s looking like a record year for
mango production in the Axarquía.
The co-operative Trops, which
distributes 60% of Spanish production
of the fruit, says it will handle around
13 million of the 20 million kilos
expected to be harvested. The climates
of Málaga and the Costa Tropical of
Granada make them the main regions
of continental Europe where mangos
can be grown on a commercially
successful basis.
Work starts
Rail travel from Málaga to Sevilla will
be reduced to just 90 minutes when a
new high-speed line is built. The
process of expropriating land to enable
construction of a new by-pass began
last month, allowing a direct link
between the two cities. At present,
passengers at obliged to change at
Córdoba.
More parking
Caleta de Vélez is to get 100 new
parking spaces on market day. The
deputy mayor’s office announced last
month that agreement had been
reached to use an empty site in calle
Ensenada, opposite the cemetery. The
parking area will be open on Saturday
to meet the demand by shoppers at the
town’s weekly market.
Beach alert
An investigation opened in Rincón de
la Victoria last month after a 4x4
vehicle was driven back and forwards
along a busy beach one evening last
month. Mayor Francisco Salado it
appeared that a family of tourists had
driven onto the beach in error and
there were no injuries. However, he
added, “There is no excuse, especially
with the terrorist alert which is
presently active.”