They used a clearance permit to carry out drilling with heavy machinery next to the archaeological zone declared a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC) in the category of “Archaeological Zone”, in the area around the Castillo de la Duquesa (Manilva, Málaga).
Following the complaint made by Verdemar Ecologistas en Acción to Manilva Town Hall, the council has sent us a document signed by the acting secretary and dated 12.02.2025, in which the landowners were asked to clear the scrub and repair the perimeter fencing of the estate. All of this was to comply with Article 144 of Law 7/2021, of 1 December, on the Promotion of Land Sustainability in Andalusia (LISTA).
The document also referred to Article 12.1 of the Municipal Ordinance on Cleanliness, Public Decoration and Waste Management (BOP Málaga no. 69 of 13 April 2009), which stresses the owner’s obligation to keep plots free of dry grass and undergrowth that pose a safety hazard. However, the Town Hall maintains a rubbish dump on the public highway just a few metres away.
Verdemar Ecologistas en Acción believes that this case file has been used to carry out test pits and bring forward the development project which, according to the property group ABU, it intends to build in the area, with 143 homes on the seafront.
The project has no municipal licence, and is subject to an archaeological easement, a coastal easement and a livestock route easement… and it apparently faces strong opposition from residents, who do not want the municipality to go back to the past when it comes to urban planning.
