The mayor enumerated the projects aimed at advancing sustainability and quality of life with the creation of the grand boulevard paysager, which has given rise to one of the best promenades in Spain, as well as the Mirador del Carmen, which has endowed the city with a vertical library, an auditorium, a music conservatory and an exhibition hall that has housed works from the Carmen Thyssen collection and the Mapfre Foundation.
He also mentioned the promotion of new housing estates, the sixth parking lot in the municipal network at a cost of 1 euro per day for users, the opening of the new town hall and progress on connecting the coastal corridor.
He appreciated the international recognition of the city model developed with the distinction awarded to Estepona by the British Academy of Town Planning as European City of the Year 2023.
On the administrative and economic front, he emphasized the Town Hall’s responsible, compliant management and legal security, stressing the reduction of the inherited debt from 304 million euros to 28 million euros, without raising taxes.
The mayor of Estepona, José María García Urbano, took stock of municipal management in 2023 and highlighted the “momentum and growth” that the city has achieved thanks to the strategic projects developed over the past year, “which are linked to the sustainable city and quality of life model that has been implemented over the past decade”.
He stressed that 2023 had been “another great year for Estepona”, with data confirming the municipality’s strength.
In this sense, he referred to the fact that the municipality continues to lead the way in job creation in Andalusia, and has a lower unemployment rate.
At the same time, he emphasized the growth in population, placing it, according to the INE, as the second city in Spain with the highest increase in the number of registered residents.
All this “in a context in which the city is demonstrating great economic and social dynamism, thanks to municipal initiatives that have encouraged the promotion of these sectors”, as he explained.
In terms of projects, he mentioned the urban progress made in the complete redevelopment of Avenida de España (formerly N340) into a large landscaped boulevard that opens the city up to the sea, creating one of the best promenades in Spain.
This initiative was complemented by work on the Mirador del Carmen social and cultural building, a project that created a balcony overlooking the Mediterranean, with a large public space on the best land the city had by the sea.
This emblematic building houses a large vertical library, an auditorium, a music conservatory – which will start operating next year – and an exhibition hall which, since its opening, has positioned Estepona as a national cultural reference with exhibitions from the Carmen Thyssen collection and the Mapfre Foundation.
The councillor pointed out that these projects are linked to the municipal initiative “Estepona, Garden of the Costa del Sol”, which has involved a major revitalization of the town center through a complete overhaul of infrastructure, limiting road traffic and beautifying more than 130 streets in the area, creating an attractive environment in which to live and important synergies for the economic and social fabric.
In addition, this year saw the promotion of the project that will be the culmination of the entire modernization and transformation of the city center, thanks to the creation of another boulevard that will link this urban center to the seafront promenade, and generate another great space for pedestrians.
It is precisely this model of a sustainable, convivial city that has earned Estepona the title of second European city of the year 2023 by the prestigious international organization The Academy of Urbanism.
In terms of infrastructure, he also referred to the drive to implement the coastal corridor linking the coastal strip, so that the city is already over 90% complete with almost 23 kilometers of coastline linked by footpaths.
Over the course of this year, several sections have been connected in the city’s western and eastern zones, and projects have been promoted and permits sought for those still pending.
The mayor also mentioned the progress made in the network of inclusive public parking lots, with the opening of the fifth parking lot in the municipal parking lot network, which costs 1 euro per day for citizens and is managed by disabled people.
These works have provided the Plaza del Ajedrez, located in the center of the city, with 500 underground parking spaces, and have involved the complete remodeling of the surface and the enhancement of the entire area.
Construction of the sixth parking lot in this network, in the El Carmen church area, has already been awarded.
Another important project was the opening of the new town hall, located in the heart of the city, which brought the administration closer to the citizens, unifying the offices and improving the service provided.
This modern building, at the forefront of sustainability, has also made it possible to add a hundred parking spaces to the network of municipal parking lots, which cost 1 euro a day.
In addition, the councillor appreciated the social support that involved the delivery of 100 subsidized housing units (VPO) and the start, during this year 2023, of the administrative process for the construction of two new developments that add up to more than a hundred other social housing units.
In addition, he recalled a multitude of actions carried out in all the city’s districts and suburbs, and listed the promotion of infrastructure works and the provision of services in the Camino de Las Mesas area; the construction of the La Hermandad public park, in the Las Mesas area; as well as the expansion to multiply by 15 the capacity of the existing water reservoir in the Las Mesas area.
In the field of water infrastructure, he mentioned the decisive municipal impetus for the creation of a desalination plant to guarantee self-sufficiency in the face of the drought situation.
The town council has the project and the funding for this important work.
Finally, as part of this section, he mentioned municipal negotiations with the central government to obtain another “urgent and necessary” request for the city, namely the creation of a new access to downtown via the A-7 freeway.
276 million euros of inherited debt repaid
With regard to the administrative and economic work of the mayor’s office, the councillor emphasized the continuity of responsible, compliant and legally secure local government management.
He pointed out that €276 million of the €304 million inherited debt that existed in 2011 has already been paid, and currently stands at around €28 million.
In terms of economic management, he also recalled the consolidation of the tax reduction implemented in 2012, with a cumulative 20% reduction in IBI and garbage tax for all citizens; as well as the efforts of local government not to pass on the increase in inflation to residents despite the additional costs that local government also incurs in providing services.
Cultural commitment
The mayor also referred to the “undeniable qualitative leap” that the city has experienced in terms of cultural facilities and the promotion of artistic expression.
In this sense, he made the new Mirador del Carmen the epicenter of the city’s cultural and social activity.
In this respect, he pointed to the continuity of first-rate exhibitions in the exhibition space, the opening of the vertical library, in collaboration with important cultural institutions in the country, and the opening of the music conservatory, in collaboration with the Junta de Andalucía, for the next school year.
Mr. García Urbano emphasized that the municipal work in this field has made it possible to associate the name of Estepona with quality culture and has given the municipality a valuable projection.
He also mentioned the prestige that the city has acquired with the Estepona Novel Prize, in collaboration with the renowned Manuel Alcántara Foundation and the Pre-Textos publishing house, and the Estepona International Poetry Prize, prizes that continue with new editions and that have represented support for creators and a valuable link between the city, culture and literature.
In addition, local artists continue to be supported in all their expressions through initiatives such as the “Estepona Crea” competition and the important work carried out at the Casa de las Tejerinas as a space for authors and artists.
Social support
The mayor also spoke of strengthening the social fabric and the municipality’s collaboration with social organizations and associations that help people in vulnerable situations.
He pointed out that the town council has unlimited emergency social aid at its disposal, to ensure that the basic needs of everyone are not neglected.
In the area of public safety, efforts to improve the material resources available to the police continued, as did the increase in the number of officers, with public calls for the creation of new local police stations.
