Last month there was a meeting of the Commission responsible for the drawing up of the Plan de Ordenacion del Territorio de la Costa del Sol Occidental de Malaga (POT) which is a master plan for the sustained development of the Costa del Sol west of Malaga as a whole.

This meeting was attended by all the Mayors of the various municipalities covered by this planning document so that they could express the opinions before the plan is given its final approval in the coming months.

The Mayor of Manilva, Salvador Zotano, has confirmed his approval for the document for two fundamental reasons: a) Modifications have been made to the first draft of the plan ensuring that future town planning decisions will be kept in the hands of the local Council with the excessive restraints imposed by the initial document; and b) It was essential to qualify and protect the interests of residents who have properties in areas that have been rezoned as specially protected, nor urbanizable, areas, and to allow a mechanism where such properties can be legalised.

In addition the allocation of 9.6 million euros in the plan for a projected Manilva River Park which will cover 600,000 square metres has been confirmed.

Nobody living in Manilva can escape the fact that it is clear that the future development of the municipality must be undertaken in a balanced and sustainable way if we want this area to be a place worth living in.

The POT document also includes in its plan a programme to create a network of open spaces along the various rivers and arroyos in the municipality including: La Peñuela, El Indiano, Alcorrin, Martagina and the Negro bringing the total investment in such ‘parks' to 13 million euros, these free spaces providing a backbone to the recreational facilities in Manilva and rectifying a deficiency in the environmental and touristic assets of the area.

The POT plan also outlines protection for some of Manilva's historical sites, with an archaeological park to be created around the Roman ruins adjacent to the castle in Castillo de la Duquesa and another around the Bronze Age settlement at Castillo Alcorrin with a budget of two million euros.

Whilst there are some aspects of the plan that might not be to everyone's liking, it is not possible to pick and choose and it is in the general interest of the citizens of Manilva to accept the plan as this will ensure the future investment in the municipality which occupies a unique strategic point on the Costa del Sol's boundary with the Campo de Gibraltar.