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.

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.

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.

ROCA PROPERTIES TO BE SOLD

The judge handling the case of corruption at Marbella Town Hall has authorised the sale of a mansion and a hotel belonging to Juan Antonio Roca, the former town planning advisor who is believed to have been behind the massive scandal. Both properties are registered in the name of a company called Condeor, which the authorities consider to be linked to Juan Antonio Roca, but the company's financial situation is poor and the judge has agreed that the Palacio de Saldaña in Madrid can be put on the market for over 15.5 million euros and the hotel, in Los Alcázares in Murcia, can be offered for 26.5 million. At the moment the company is said to be facing 11 court cases which could cost it several million euros, and the judge wants to ensure that the money is available to cover the costs and that its assets do not disappear.

FEAR FORCES URBANISATIONS TO INCREASE SECURITY

Approximately one third of all communities of owners on the Costa del Sol are considering increasing their security and have asked for estimates from experts, it was reported last week. Many communities are thinking of installing video cameras or employing private security guards at night, although the high cost often means that it is difficult to obtain consensus about the matter and few of them go ahead with the idea. In the meantime, many individuals are installing alarms and video entryphones in their homes, particularly those who live on urbanisations on the coast. The fear of robbery or attack is so great in some areas that one community of owners in Marbella has invested over a million euros on a state-of-the-art video-vigilance scheme which can distinguish between people and animals, and which scans car number plates as they enter the complex, but experts say it is possible to safeguard properties much more cheaply by installing cameras in strategic places. Four cameras monitoring an average-sized garage, with the video recorder and cables, can be obtained for about 5,000 euros, while 20 cameras and a larger number of monitors could set the community's coffers back by about 60,000 euros. While many people are not worried about the prospect of being constantly filmed by security cameras outside their homes, others are against such schemes, believing that the constant presence of cameras is an invasion of their privacy.

MUMMY FOUND IN FLAT

Jordi Giro, who had bought a flat in the Costa Brava resort of Rosas at an auction after the previous owner defaulted on her payments, got a nasty surprise when he went to inspect his new home for the first time - he found her mummified body sitting on a sofa. Maria Luisa Zamora failed to keep up payments on her mortgage because she had in fact died in 2001. Police said the body had probably been preserved by the salty sea air. Coroners said Sra Zamora died of natural causes. But questions are being asked about why no-one has been concerned as to her whereabouts for the last six years. Police said neither her estranged husband nor her children in Madrid registered a missing persons report for the 55-year-old woman. Neighbours said Sra Zamora had bought the flat as a holiday home and when the garden grew over they assumed she had simply stayed away.

NEW HOUSING LAW PASSED

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Parliament passed a law last week aimed at controlling property speculators whom the government blames for spiralling house prices. It will come into force on July 1st, after which official documents will list everybody who has owned any piece of land in the five years before its development and senior local government officials will have to declare their assets. A number of local officials have been arrested recently in several parts of the country - most notably Marbella - on allegations of fraud, money laundering and corruption linked to housing projects. The government hopes that reducing the number of speculators and the degree of corruption will bring down prices. When announcing the passing of the law, Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero said: "With the instruments of this law we should put the brakes on exorbitant house prices." The new law also reserves 30% of future property development for social housing and allows for planning decisions taken over the past two years to be reviewed under certain circumstances.

RESIDENTS ANGRY WITH NEW BUILD IRREGULARITIES

Residents of an apartment block next to the site of the new car park in Estepona's Avenida Puerta del Mar are threatening to take legal action against the developer and the council because of alleged irregularities in the building. The president of the community of owners says it is ten metres higher than it should be and is blocking the view from two apartments. The community also claims that the builders have made holes in the wall of the apartment block, have taken up parking spaces and have used garages for storage, without asking for permission to do so. The car park is being built on a 1,514 square metre site, and will have 117 parking spaces, and shop premises on the ground floor. The works are expected to be completed this month.

POOR TURNOUT FOR ESTEPONA PROTEST MARCH

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Few people turned up for a protest march in Estepona last week, and a spokesman says that if there is not enough support for the next planned demonstration, on May 18th in the Plaza Antonia Guerrero, the rest of the group will stop putting pressure on the Junta de Andalucía. The march along Avenida Litoral to the A-7 was organised by owners of rural properties who would be negatively affected by the Plan de Ordenación del Territorio, (known as the P.O.T.). It is believed many of them decided not to take part in the march because of the dangers it could entail.