PP WILL DECIDE ON LEGALITY OF BANDERAS VILLA

Antonio Banderas's attempt to help the Socialist Party (PSOE) win the local election in Marbella might backfire on him. He confidently announced his voting intention just days before the March 27th election, which the main opposition party, the Partido Popular (PP) won with a resounding majority. Unfortunately for Sr Banderas it is now the PP which will have to decide whether his beach villa - declared illegal several years ago - will be among those to be demolished.

40 MEGAWATT SOLAR PLANT PLANNED

Ronda could have a huge solar electricity site in the future, if a project by a Catalán company is approved by the authorities. The 40 megawatt plant would be the biggest in Andalucía and acting mayor of Ronda Antonio Marín Lara says it would provide clean energy to the Campo de Gibraltar as well as the local area. The project would cost 300 million euros and the plant would probably be sited in the countryside near Ronda La Vieja or Serrato, in a location where it would have no environmental effect. This type of plant, which generates electricity through solar panels or modules, produces so-called clean energy because there are no CO2 or contaminatory gas emissions, no residual waste is generated, and the supply is unlimited. The mayor says the plant would be highly beneficial to Ronda, not only in terms of jobs and the local economy, but also because the town's street lighting could be supplied free of charge.

15TH CENTURY REMAINS UNCOVERED

Archaeologists who are excavating beneath the Convento de la Trinidad in Marbella have uncovered remains dating back to the 15th century, including ceramics, tombs, and the foundations of a mediaeval house with valuable stucco features. The team, led by Ramón Hiraldo, has been working beneath the cloisters and the Santa Catalina chapel, and they believe their discovery gives important information about the history of the town and the site on which the convent now stands. They have also found the skeletans of between 15 and 20 children, which would seem to indicate that this was an official burial site for them, while the remains of adults inside the chapel are probably those of wealthy people who could afford to pay to be buried in a religious location. Marbella council has decided to open the excavation site to the public, probably from Tuesday to Thursday, and visits by schools are also being organised.

HOSPITAL COSTA DEL SOL TO INCREASE SUMMER SERVICES

The Costa del Sol hospital in Marbella will be increasing its services this summer, unlike many other hospitals in the region which reduce services to a minimum because of staff holidays. The hospital management is aware that the population of Marbella increases considerably between July and September, and 1.4 million euros are to be spent on ensuring adequate medical attention. 1.2 million euros will be to cover the cost of substitutes for staff who are on holiday, and the remainder will be for additional staff for the Emergency Department. The hospital is expected to attend to more than 73,000 outpatients over the summer and to carry out 3,300 operations, which will be 600 more than in 2006.

FIVE MALAGA OFFICES BROKEN INTO

A gang of thieves broke into five offices in the same block in the centre of Málaga on the same night last week, and they gained access by kicking down the doors. The robberies occurred in Calle Panaderos, which runs parallel to the Alameda Principal, on the night of Sunday 24th May. The owners of the offices arrived on the Monday morning to find the police waiting for them, and the interior of their premises in chaos with papers and files thrown all over the place. The police suspect that the thieves were looking for money, but they were apparently unlucky as only one office is believed to have had cash inside. Owners and tenants of premises in the block have now held a meeting to discuss installing a security door at the entrance to the building, and they are also considering installing a video camera so they can see who is trying to get in.

MALAGA AIRPORT PROJECTS OUT TO TENDER

The Airports Authority has just invited offers from companies interested in carrying out three major projects related to the expansion of Málaga Airport. One of these is the new airport railway station, which will be much closer to the airport than the existing one, and will be designed so that in future it will not only be used for trains on the suburban line but also for high speed trains and the Málaga metro. The station, which will cost 23 million euros, could be ready within a year. The other two projects which were put to tender last week are the multi-service network which supports the transmission of data, voice and video throughout the new terminal and the two existing passenger areas, and which will cost 21.3 million euros, and the integration system which will provide real-time information about the electrical system, luggage transportation and climatization, among other facilities. This will cost 3.2 million euros.

LAS PEDRIZAS ROAD WORKS

Resurfacing works are to be carried out on Las Pedrizas motorway in the near future, at a cost of 15.9 million euros to the Ministry of Public Works. The project will be carried out on 44.4 kilometres of the A-45 between Antequera and Málaga, from kilometres 122 and 166.4. Several layers of tarmac will be needed in some places where the road condition is particularly bad. This road is used by more than 50,000 vehicles a day, many of them lorries and buses, and the last time such works were carried out was in 2003.

NEW AVENUE BETWEEN CARTAMA AND ESTACION DE CARTAMA

The contract has now been awarded for the first phase of the construction of an avenue between Cártama village and Estación de Cártama, at a cost of 3.5 million euros. The works will consist of transforming the existing road into a wide avenue with pavements, a bicycle lane and garden areas, and this first phase will be carried out on the stretch between the Jarifa school in Cártama village and the roundabout at the intersection with the A-7057 Churriana road. It should take 17 months to complete. The new road will be twice the width of the existing one, which will ease traffic flow, and five roundabouts will be built along it to provide better access to residential areas and other roads.

TWO ARRESTED FOR IBIZA SHOOTING INCIDENCE

Officers from Fuengirola's Local Police force have arrested two people who they think were involved in a shooting incident in Ibiza in July last year. The men were travelling on a motorbike which was stopped during a routine check at the Torreblanca roundabout, and although the driver produced documentation in a different name, the police suspected that he is a British man who is allegedly a member of an international drug trafficking network, and who took part in a shoot-out between gangs in San Antonio, Ibiza, last summer. The drug trafficker is wanted by the Guardia Civil in San Antonio and there is also an extradition warrant out on him, issued by Belgium.

MARBELLA URBAN PLAN

Marbella's future Urban Plan includes the construction of about 30,000 homes, of which 30% will be social housing in accordance with the law. The Plan has been drawn up by the Junta de Andalucía, and does not include any new building north of the motorway apart from in areas which are already consolidated such as Los Altos de Marbella and La Cañada. The areas in which the new growth is planned are on the peripheries of existing urban areas in order to avoid creating isolated residential districts, and 51% of Marbella's land will be zoned as not suitable for building. The regional government is also concerned about the amount of traffic in Marbella, which, with a ratio of 670 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants, is higher than Madrid and Sevilla. The Plan suggests pedestrianising some coastal areas, giving preference to public transport on the old N340 highway, and abolishing toll charges on the motorway in order that it can be used as a bypass. The regional government also had some other good news for the new mayor of Marbella, Ángeles Muñoz, last week, as it announced that town planning powers would be returned to the council as soon as she has been sworn in as mayor on June 16th.

POLICE INSPECTORS ASK FOR TRANSFER

Two police inspectors who have been playing an important role in 'Operación Malaya' have asked to be transferred, reportedly because of lack of support from the General Police Department for the work they are carrying out in the investigation into massive corruption at Marbella Town Hall. Both officers are from one of the teams in the Money Laundering section of the Udyco squad on the Costa del Sol, and it is believed that they will be transferred to El Palo district of Málaga in the near future. They are said to be highly experienced and professional police officers, and their department has been responsible for investigating 'Operación Ballena Blanca' as well as the now famous 'Operación Malaya' which led to the dissolution of the former Marbella council and over 100 arrests so far. Their departure from the investigation comes before one of the most intriguing puzzles has been solved: the identity of an alleged 'mole' inside the police force who kept Juan Antonio Roca, who is suspected of being the brain behind the corruption, informed.

LOS BOLICHES MARKET ON THE MOVE

Work on the municipal market in Los Boliches area of Fuengirola has now been completed, and traders should be able to move into it this week. The council rescinded the contract with the company responsible for the works because of delays, and took over the project itself. Acting deputy mayor Pedro Cuevas said last week that the traders will now be able to work in modern premises which are accessible by people with mobility difficulties, and that the market is now more spacious and complies with the new regulations. It will open to the public once the traders have moved back in.

CANDIDATES ASKED HEADS OR TAILS

When the local elections on May 27th resulted in 66 votes each for the Partido Popular and PSOE candidates for mayor of the tiny village of Carataunas in Granada province, the locals decided to toss a coin for it last Friday. PSOE candidate José Daniel Vigil, a farmer, chose heads, and the PP's Salvador Rodriguez, also a farmer, chose tails. And tails won. Neither candidate was very happy with the method but the alternative would have been to hold another election and run the risk of another tie.

PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE BILOWING MORE POPULAR

Although Spain is alleged to be one of the EU countries with the shortest hospital waiting lists, at least 13% of people in Malaga province took out a private health insurance last year - and the insurance companies fully expect the number to grow. The private clinics boast that their waiting lists are practically non-existent. According to figures compiled by ICEA, which does research for the pension funds and insurance companies, people have to wait 45 days after they make an appointment to see a specialist in Malaga province - three days more than the average for the rest of Andalucia. Malaga also lags behind when t comes to getting the results of tests - 21 days as opposed to 20 in the rest of the region. However, private insurance is slightly cheaper in the province - 555 euros a year as opposed to the national average of 568 euros.

TWO INJURED IN MALAGA PLANE CRASH

Two men were seriously injured on Wednesday night when the light aircraft in which they were travelling crashed just before landing at an airfield in Vélez-Málaga. The accident occurred shortly after 9 p.m. and the plane is believed to have struck the branch of a tree as it descended, crashing into the Vélez River. The pilot was trapped in the cabin of the aircraft and had to be cut free by firemen, while the passenger was helped to safety as he was suffering from a broken ankle. Both men, who are in their fifties, remained conscious at all times and were transferred by ambulance to the Axarquía district hospital. The pilot is believed to be very experienced, and the police are carrying out an investigation into the cause of the crash although broken branches in the area where the plane landed would seem to support the theory that the aircraft hit a tree. This is not the first serious accident at the Axarquía aerodrome, which is in El Trapiche district. In 2003 three adults and a little girl aged seven were killed when their light aircraft exploded shortly after take-off and crashed into the river.

40 MEGAWAIT SOLAR PLANT PLANNED

Ronda could have a huge solar electricity site in the future, if a project by a Catalán company is approved by the authorities. The 40 megawatt plant would be the biggest in Andalucía and acting mayor of Ronda Antonio Marín Lara says it would provide clean energy to the Campo de Gibraltar as well as the local area. The project would cost 300 million euros and the plant would probably be sited in the countryside near Ronda La Vieja or Serrato, in a location where it would have no environmental effect. This type of plant, which generates electricity through solar panels or modules, produces so-called clean energy because there are no CO2 or contaminatory gas emissions, no residual waste is generated, and the supply is unlimited. The mayor says the plant would be highly beneficial to Ronda, not only in terms of jobs and the local economy, but also because the town's street lighting could be supplied free of charge.

SEVEN OF MALAGAS MUNICIPALITIES HAVE MOST EXPENSIVE PROPERTIES

Seven of the municipalities with the most expensive properties in Andalucía are in Málaga province, according to figures released by the government. After studying information about municipalities with a population of more than 25,000, they discovered that Marbella, Estepona, Benalmádena, Torremolinos, Fuengirola, Mijas and Rincón de la Victoria are all in the top ten, together with Cádiz, Rota and Sevilla. Marbella heads the list, at 2,852.1 euros per square metre, Estepona is third with 2,640.2 euros, followed by Benalmádena in fourth place with 2,578 euros, Torremolinos fifth with 2,538.2 euros, Fuengirola sixth with 2,489 euros, Mijas eighth with 2,474.6 euros, and Rincón de la Victoria ninth with 2,456.7 euros.

MARBELLA ASSETS SORTED

The new Marbella council will know exactly what belongs to the Town Hall when it takes over from the committee which has been running the town since the Malaya corruption scandal and the dissolution of the council. The committee has spent 13 months trying to discover what Marbella's assets are, and has come up with a total value of 524 million euros although its president, Diego Martín Reyes, believes the true figure is even higher. No list of assets had been drawn up since 1989, and he says this has been a complicated task because in the last 15 years the Town Hall obtained numerous properties as payment for town planning agreements and others were transferred to third parties. Some properties are still embargoed because of debts run up with the Banco de Crédito Local, which was later taken over by BBVA, by former mayor Jesús Gil y Gil.

4000 FINE MAY FORCE SANCTUARY TO CLOSE

A donkey sanctuary in Nerja will have to close if the council insists that it pays a 4,320 euro fine because it doesn't have the funds to do so. The voluntary organisation, which also rescues other types of animal, says the fine is unjust because it asked permission from the Town Hall when it needed to build a shelter to protect the animals and food supplies in bad weather, and was told that permission wasn't needed because this would only be a temporary structure without concrete walls, built in an agricultural area by a non profit-making organisation. Now, two and a half years later, it has been notified that it is being fined for a town planning offence. The organisation relies on donations and is run by volunteers. It works closely with the Guardia Civil's environmental squad, Seprona, and with the Local Police and has rescued about 1,000 animals and found homes for more than 600 horses and donkeys and 300 dogs and cats since 2004. The sanctuary has more than 4,000 members in the Axarquía district, and was visited by 60,000 people last year.

BRITISH MAN AND SON IN COURT ACCUSED OF MURDER

A British man and his son who are standing trial for murder could face 17 years in jail if found guilty. That is the sentence proposed by the prosecution for the two men, who are accused of having robbed and killed a fellow Briton whose body was found at the bottom of a well near Álora two years ago. The case started in June 2005 when the victim, a builder known as Alfie, sacked the younger man because of a disagreement over money. This caused bad feeling between them, and they are said to have had a fight a few days later, in which Alfie was injured but didn't report the matter to the police. The young man is then reported to have told a friend that he hated his former employer so much that he planned to tie him up, kill him and throw his body down a well and then run off with all his money because he knew the PIN number of his credit card. According to the prosecution, on July 11th, the father and son engineered a meeting with Alfie in Cártama and pretended to have a business proposal for him. The three men then went off together, and the two hit him on the head so violently that he died almost instantly. They are then alleged to have tied his hands together, tied his body to a concrete block, and thrown him down a well at Arroyo de Pedro la Torre, in Álora. They are also accused of stealing 2,000 Pounds and 100 euros which their victim had been carrying, and stealing a total of 3,380 euros from his credit card. As well as the prison sentences, the prosecution is also asking that the two men be ordered to pay 180,000 euros in compensation to the victim's family.