Opposition politicians in Nerja have accused the Council of favouritism relating to the ‘unusually rapid’ reclassification of a plot of land in the municipality owned by José Utrera Molina, a former Minister under Franco and the father-in-law of the current mayor of Madrid, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón.
The plot of land in question is at the junction of calle Rodrigues Acosta and calle General Asensio Cabanillas. It is a 1,300 metre plot of land owned by José Utrera Molina and his wife Margarita Gómez Blanco. Their daughter, Maria del Mar, is married to the mayor of Madrid, and soon to be Minister in the Rajoy government, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón.
Gallardón is a regular visitor to Nerja. A provisional amendment to the PGOU (General Plan) was approved at the last plenary session of the Council to pave the way for the construction of terraced housing rather than detached houses as is currently permitted.
The Opposition claim that the process has been carried out with ‘unusual rapidity’, just three months after the first proposal was received from an architect in Madrid. In addition, it is being claimed that the surface area of the reclassified plot has increased by some 200 square metres. They also claim that the technical reports do not clarify the reasons behind the change in classification.
The Council deny any form of preferential treatment or increase in size of the plot of land and say that everything has been carried out within the rule of law and all the technical and other reports are in order. The Council spokesmen, José Alberto Tomé and José Miguel Garcia, responded by saying that the Council does not discriminate against anyone and the only reason this complaint has been made is because of the person involved.