The Town Mayor, Josele González (PSOE), and the Mijas Town Council's Town Planning Councillor, Andrés Ruiz (Cs), announced that the plenary session hold on Wednesday the 27th of April, included the initial approval of the modification of the General Urban Development Plan (PGOU) for the implementation of the Mijas hospital with the support of the plenary session.

"We are talking about a much-needed infrastructure, that is, in great demand by the Costa del Sol people. It could cover more than 200,000 people, and this local government is doing its utmost to make it a reality," said the Councillor. He regretted that "despite the effort and willingness we have shown, even going so far as to offer to fund for the construction of this centre, and be the third most populous city in the province, those responsible for health matters in the Junta de Andalucía look the other way, and deny the truth by not even responding to the offer of land that we made on behalf of our city three years ago. Besides, we had the support of the plenary session".

According to the government team, "the lack of response from the Regional Ministry of Health" has been, as both institutional representatives pointed out during the appearance, the trigger for the local government to raise, a partial element modification of the PGOU that will come to solve the need to delimit the Fuengirola River Public Domain. "We could not wait any longer to carry out this modification which, in no case, will imply the loss of allocations for the municipality, and which will also improve the urban planning of the centre of Las Lagunas," explained González, who called for improvements and greater investment in health in the town. "For this local government, it is a priority to move forward with this infrastructure. We will continue to fight not only for the hospital construction but also to improve health services available to the Mijas people. We have to remember that the health centre in Las Lagunas covers other municipalities and has collapsed.  We still have no emergency or ambulance in La Cala, something unacceptable in the heart of the Costa del Sol".

In the same way, Ruiz stated, "although we have been asking for this hospital for many years relentlessly, offering land, and even municipal funding, due to the population growth in our municipality, and the total number of inhabitants of the other towns it would serve, the pandemic has made it clear that the Mijas hospital must be an imminent priority". The Councillor pointed out that "after having had two plot proposals on the table of the Regional Ministry of Health since November 2019, we opted in the Town Council to stop waiting and move forward on the land, as the local administration offered it more than six years ago in Las Lagunas".

Modification of the PGOU

Thus, the plenary session included this point which will allow the proposal for nearly 280,000 square metres of land to be approved without any loss of facilities for the municipality. "In this area, the piece of land where the hospital would be located, which is now a green zone, would change its classification, transferring these square metres to the Fuengirola river corridor, and thus, adding to the access to the Great Park of the Costa del Sol", explained Ruiz, who added that "the hospital complex land, with a total of almost 60,000 square metres, would now be used as a facility".

Thus, the modification affects land currently destined for the public domain classified by the PGOU as General System of Open Areas (public green area), as well as common undeveloped land and programmed land for development. This amendment will also involve the relocation of land for public facilities so that they meet the conditions of functionality, and accessibility according to the standards required by the planning legislation. All without losing any allocations for the municipality.

The area selected for the future location of the Mijas hospital has good access to the motorway (A7) and a nearby train stop planned for the future coastal railway linking this area with Fuengirola. "The people of Mijas cannot wait any longer for this hospital. We already have a population of more than 90,000 inhabitants, and exponential growth, the sufficient size to count on this essential service for our neighbours, which we have been demanding for so many years", said the Councillor.

Awaiting response

With this initial PGOU modification, the entire municipal corporation will force, he said, "the Junta to have to give a response to approve this procedure. The location of this health infrastructure would cover the entire Costa del Sol, meeting the needs of thousands of Mijas residents". The government team denounced "the lack of availability to date on behalf of the regional government, which has recently announced agreements for new health centres in nearby municipalities. We will continue to collaborate and join forces with the Junta and facilitate the necessary steps to ensure that the hospital becomes a reality as soon as possible".

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