Vélez-Málaga Council has ordered the removal of a mobile phone antenna in Los Pérez, Benajarafe and have given the owners, Vodafone Spain, 15 days to carry out the order.
Residents of Los Pérez have been complaining for a long time that the antenna was the cause of 43 cases of cancer amongst the population of 350 people in the area.
However, this is not the reason that the Council is ordering the removal of the antenna which has stood for fourteen years. It is built on rural land and does not comply with the PGOU.
In March, following meetings with local residents, the Council began to investigate the legality of the tower next to the old N-340 and found that all was not as it should be. Vodafone have contested the decision by the Council for the removal of the antenna but to no avail.
Residents in the area want any antenna to be at least 500 metres from any centre of population. The Council is now mapping the municipality with regard to antennae and intends to exercise more control over such objects, particularly in relation to proximity to urban developments.