The Nerja Council is wanting to end the ‘Cultural Interest’ link between the village of Maro and the Nerja Caves, something which has been in operation since the 1960’s and means that all building projects have to be approved by the Ministry of Culture.
The link means that the village of Maro is also a protected area as far as building works are concerned, even down to the reformation of individual homes, and many requests for licences are viewed ‘unfavourably, by the Ministry of Culture.
The Council believes that protection under the Andalucian Historical Heritage Act is unnecessary as the area is also covered by the PGOU and the POTA. It wants to see a situation similar to that of Nerja, where building works in the centre of the town are the responsibility of the municipal authority and not the regional authority.
There are apparently a large number of outstanding building projects for Maro which are either being held up or have been rejected by the Ministry of Culture.
Both the Council and the AEN have long wanted to develop areas in and around Maro in the interests of tourism – golf courses, hotels etc – and a de-linking would presumably make such things possible. The bulk of income in most municipalities is derived from building projects through the various licence fees.
The motion to request the de-linking has been approved by the Local Government Committee and will be ratified at the next plenary session. Whether the regional authorities will listen is an entirely different matter.