Manilva Town Hall called a press conference this morning to «shed light» on the work in the area surrounding the archaeological Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) of the Castillo de la Duquesa, an issue on which, according to the mayor, there is an attempt to «confuse the public and public opinion». The governing team, accompanied by municipal technicians, stressed its commitment to legality and to the «recovery of our heritage».
The central point of the appearance was the distinction between two completely separate plots which, allegedly, have been mixed up by outside interests and which, as we have been reporting, have reached the Andalusian Parliament through VOX spokesman Antonio Sevilla. He asked about the work being carried out on one of the plots (Plot A, blue outline), where it is planned to build 3 blocks with 140 homes. He was answered by the Regional Minister for Culture, Patricia del Pozo, who set out the measures taken by the Junta de Andalucía regarding the other, non-developable plot (Plot B, red outline), giving the impression of not knowing exactly what the project begun on the BIC in question involved.
Plot A (Blue Outline): The Developer ABU and the Museum
The first plot, marked with a blue outline in the documentation presented at the press conference, is private land with urban planning rights established since the approval of the General Plan in 1994. On it, the developer Abu has been working, according to the mayor, always under the supervision and authorisation of the Culture Delegation.
Mario Jimenez stated that, following a complaint from the environmental group Verdemar about alleged irregularities, Seprona investigated the situation and concluded that «there is no illegal procedure in this work» .
The Urban Planning councillor, Juan Carlos Morejón, and the culture coordinator, José Carlos Castaño, confirmed that the most significant project on this plot is the construction of the future Municipal Archaeological Museum, which will be a municipal facility.
«All the archaeological remains will be recovered and put on display so that the public can visit them», said the mayor, adding that the museum proposal is currently being reviewed by the Culture Delegation of the Junta de Andalucía .
Currently, only a geotechnical survey with an archaeologist on site has been authorised, as required by the Andalusian Heritage Law. The building licence will not be granted until the museum plan has been fully approved by the Culture Delegation .
Plot B (Red Outline): Clearance Work Halted
The second plot, marked with a red outline in the press conference presentation, is private land that forms part of the Archaeological Park and is non-developable.
In this case, the Town Hall issued an order to clean and clear the land on 26 March 2025 to prevent fire risks. However, the owner carried out the work using mechanical means and heavy machinery, which goes beyond simple cleaning and amounts to unauthorised earthworks.
The Town Hall stated that, after detecting the irregular work on 3 July, it halted and sealed off the work on 4 July 2025, before receiving official notification from the Culture Delegation (which arrived on 7 July).
Although the Junta de Andalucía has opened disciplinary proceedings, the Town Hall has provided all the documentation and has responded to them, reaffirming that its actions were always aimed at stopping an unauthorised activity and protecting the archaeological heritage of the area.
Councillor Juan Carlos Morejón regretted the «misuse» of information in mixing up the two plots, which «simply harms the town of Manilva».
The Town Hall reiterated its «utmost cooperation» with the Culture Delegation in all proceedings.
