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Date Published: 19/01/2023

ARCHIVED - Finnish community and other expats in Fuengirola and Mijas oppose new go-karting track

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More than 145 foreign residents in the Malaga municipalities are involved with the platform 'Stop karting Los Pacos' set up last November

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Finnish community and other expats in Fuengirola and Mijas oppose new go-karting track

Fuengirola and Mijas town councils are at loggerheads over the construction of a new go-karting circuit near a residential area, a project that has been met with fierce opposition from the local Finnish community and other expats.

The track is earmarked for an area known as Camino de Pajares, which belongs to the municipality of Mijas but adjoins the district of Los Pacos, Fuengirola.

The project has environmental authorisation from the Andalucía Government, but Fuengirola council has since lodged an appeal with the support of a stronghold of residents. In contrast, Mijas Town Hall is in favour of the proposed circuit.

The anti-track platform 'Stop karting Los Pacos' was created last November, and involves some 145 residents affected by the plans, a large number of whom are Finnish, part of a community of foreign residents who settled in the 1960s, according to its spokesman, Francisco Quero.

The group has joined forces to denounce "the building and activity licence granted by Mijas Town Hall" for a karting circuit, arguing that the "installations of the future facility are less than 100 metres from residential buildings in Fuengirola".

The group spokesman added: "It is currently agricultural and livestock land classified as non-sectorised land for development which means that only installations that can be easily dismantled are allowed. A project costing more than 700,000 euros, with asphalting and 25-metre lighting towers on a concrete base, clearly does not comply with this classification."

And, despite the fact that the project has "environmental authorisation", objectors claim the document presents "inaccuracies" such as "indicating that the water supply and drainage has been authorised by Fuengirola", when the local authority has actually "rejected it".

Two months ago, Fuengirola Mayor, Ana Mula, made her opposition to the karting project very clear. She warned that the licence "could be null and void because it has been granted, as the regulations stipulate, as a removable installation which a track of this type is clearly not".

"Fuengirola council has gone to administrative litigation against the environmental qualification because we do not share the criteria. The project presented for environmental qualification is based on the assumption that both sewerage and water are going to be connected in our municipality, and the delegation was told that we were not going to authorise the connection," she explained at the time.

However, in contrast, Mijas Town Hall has stated that "this is a project that has the authorisation of the Andalusian Regional Government and a favourable environmental study".

Furthermore, the council has pointed out that "the circuit would comply with the regulations and would not be detrimental to homes located in the vicinity, since according to the studies carried out, the acoustic impact would remain within the municipality of Mijas, so it would not affect homes located in the neighbouring municipality".

In fact, it claims the nearby motorway generates more noise than a karting track would.

"In any case, the building permit has been granted on the basis of prior authorisation from the government and in accordance with the general plan of the municipality," concluded a spokesperson for Mijas Town Hall.

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Images: Stop karting Los Pacos

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