The mayor of Nerja has stated that the Council gave the green light to proposed changes to the footbridge project in Maro on June 16th.
The mayor of Nerja, José Alberto Armijo, was responding to criticism from the manager of the Nerja Caves Foundation, Ángel Ramirez, that the footbridge project was being delayed because the Council had not approved changes to the original project plans.
The mayor stated that approval was given on June 16th, a mere sixteen days after they received the necessary documentation from the Demarcación de Carreteras, and any current delay was nothing to do with the Council.
The change to the plan, suggested by the municipal technicians, was to install a ramp at one end of the new footbridge rather than stairs at both ends.
The footbridge, which connects the Nerja Caves to the village of Maro, has been subjected to numerous delays. The project, initiated by the Nerja Caves Foundation but financed entirely by the Ministry of Public Works, finally got underway in December 2007 but was then halted by the Nerja Council due to questions about legality and the necessity for various licences.
The project seems to have become a bit of a local party political football, with a constant stream of claims and counter-claims emanating from the two main protagonists, the Partido Popular controlled Council and the PSOE controlled Nerja Caves Foundation.