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The Junta de Andalucía has put an end - at least at an administrative level because it could still go to court - to a long battle between Fuengirola and Benalmádena over land that lies on the dividing line between the two municipalities. Specifically, 6.72 hectares located in the Reserva del Higuerón area, which Fuengirola has been claiming for itself for some time, although to date it has belonged to Benalmádena. And so it will remain. At least that is what the Andalusian government has decided following the legal challenge made by Fuengirola town hall.
According to details provided by the regional authority, 89 people live on the estate and the decision was taken after collecting information from both municipalities and after the contrary report of the advisory council.
It was in March 2021 when Fuengirola council submitted an application to the then regional ministry of tourism, regeneration, justice and local administration to alter the territorial boundary between its municipal area and that of Benalmádena. It claimed that, since its first general urban development plan in 1964, Fuengirola has exercised urban development, census and taxation powers over this area without opposition from Benalmádena town hall, which excludes this area when planning the urban development of its municipal area. It therefore refused to compensate the neighbouring municipality financially.
The council added that this was a purely formal modification which did not alter either the fiscal capacity of Benalmádena or the provision of services to the residents in the area, since both the IBI and the waste tax for the estate is already collected by Fuengirola town hall. Moreover, Fuengirola was the one which had granted the municipal licences for the 50 homes located there. However, it guaranteed the affected residents their acquired rights. It also indicated that there is no administrative body in the area.
According to Fuengirola town hall, with the requested alteration, the municipal area of Benalmádena would reduce its surface area by 0.24 per cent and that of Fuengirola would increase by 0.65 per cent.
Fuengirola's request, according to the report, responded to the need for urban expansion due to the small size of its municipal area (1,036 hectares compared to 2,720 hectares in Benalmádena) with a growing population in an area connected to the Mediterranean motorway, which facilitates access to the centre of Fuengirola and its services.
For its part, Benalmádena opposed this application, pointing out that, despite being an isolated area, Reserva del Higuerón is fully integrated into the urban fabric of Benalmádena, whose council has provided it with access infrastructure and provides various services to the residents. It also pointed out that Fuengirola's intention violates sustainable urban development, as the residents have schools, sports facilities, shopping centres, pharmacies, supermarkets and petrol stations within an average distance of two kilometres, while these same services in Fuengirola would be an average of six kilometres away from the area, and residents would also have to cross the dual carriageway to reach them.
Before reaching the regional government, the issue was dealt with by other bodies, including the provincial authority, which did not take a position on the matter, while the territorial delegation of development, planning and housing in Malaga reported that the area is included in the municipal area of Benalmádena.
The regional ministry of economy, finance and European funds issued a report in which it pointed out that both councils have financial solvency, so that the revenue and expenditure effects of the territorial alteration would not entail a great loss for either of them. However, taking into account that Fuengirola had at that time zero euros of outstanding debt (fourth quarter of 2022) while Benalmádena had an outstanding debt of 2.5 million, it considered that "the progressive assumption by Benalmádena of the collection management in the area would be of greater use to the latter municipality to settle the outstanding debt". However, to stop collecting taxes from the estate would not be a problem for the municipal coffers of Fuengirola.
With all this documentation, the regional ministry of justice drew up a draft decree to resolve the row, which was debated by ministers of the regional government in December and which decided to rule against Fuengirola's request.
In view of the decree that rejects this request, however, it is possible to lodge a contentious-administrative appeal through the courts, a step which is being studied by Fuengirola town hall, which does not rule out taking this route, according to municipal sources.
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