Neighbours protest as council ignores pleas. Credit ATFB
Residents in Ensanche Oeste, Torre del Mar, say they have been left taken aback after learning a key pedestrian route into the town centre will be fully opened for the Ironman 70.3 Malaga event on 18 October, only for the council to suggest it could be closed again afterwards.
Christian Vega, president of the AVEOtorre neighbourhood association, explained that urbanisation works on the UE-1 subsection of the Sup.T-12 sector began two years ago. The first step was to demolish the single existing carriageway that linked the neighbourhood to the main body of Torre del Mar. Ever since, people have been forced to pick their way along stretches of loose stone and dirt.
“Our neighbourhood was built without architectural barriers, so we have a lot of residents with reduced mobility who are really badly affected by this situation,” Vega said.
Precarious progress in May
In May the association managed to get 150 metres of pavement opened on a temporary basis. Vega described that as “a good step forward for accessibility and mobility”. Wheelchair users and others with limited mobility finally had a safer option, even if it was only a short stretch.
This week, however, the town hall informed residents that the full access will be opened, but only while the Ironman competition is taking place. Council officials have been putting heavy pressure on the Junta de Compensación so that the avenue is ready for the thousands of athletes expected on the bike course through the area.
Stunned by talk of re-closure
Vega said the association was left “stupefied” when the council indicated the route would probably be closed again once the event finishes. “If they close it again we would still be left with an unsafe and inaccessible route, where at least four people have already had to call for help after getting stuck in the loose sand with their wheelchairs,” he said. “Worse still, in the rainy season people are trying to cross a muddy zone.”
He added that the association hopes the council will take into account not only the importance of major sporting competitions but also the day-to-day lives of its own residents. They want to keep the temporary opening so that people have a safe way through, while the works retain all the necessary guarantees and insurance until technical inspections and formal reception of the urbanisation are complete, expected, according to the council, at the beginning of next year.
Long-running row over basic access
The latest development comes after more than a year of complaints about the hazardous temporary track. Earlier reports on Euro Weekly News detailed how the original asphalt link was removed in late 2024 and how Spanish locals and British expats have repeatedly protested about the lack of a proper pedestrian connection to the promenade, shops and beach. The area now contains roughly 1,300 homes.
Traffic restrictions linked to the Ironman will already affect the N-340, the Sup.T-12 sector and the promenade between 8.30am and 3pm on 18 October. Residents argue that opening the access properly for the race only to shut it again would simply return them to the same dangerous conditions.
The mayor for the Tenencia de Alcaldia of Torre del Mar has just changed. If he wants to win the next local elections, he will need to get busy answering to the residents of Ensanche Oeste Torre del Mar SupT12.
