ISSUE NO. 1609
5 - 11 May 2016
AXARQUÍA - COSTA TROPICAL YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
A charming town
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Good results A RECENT campaign by Nerja’s Foreign Residents department to encourage people to register or renew on the padron was deemed success-
ful with new names added to the list and old names confirmed. See page 4
Tunnel terror ELEVEN people were taken to hospital after a bus broke down inside a motorway tunnel in Torrox, causing panic amongst nearby residents who reported seeing a lot of smoke but not knowing where it was coming from. See page 5
One year on IT’S been a year since work started on the streets of La Herradura’s historical centre, and the council has reported the re-
sults of the project so far and thanked local residents for their pacience during the period. See page 6
Sold out LOCAL vocalist Adrian Martin, aged 11, a video of whom went viral on YouTube and reached more than six million hits, has released his debut album, which sold out within hours. By Matthew Elliott Why pamper life’s complexities when you live in the most charming coastal town in Spain? With all the ballots counted Nerja has officially won a nationwide vote to uncover the most charming coastal town in the country, a distinguished honour that will please residents and doubtlessly lure more visitors keen to discover just what makes the iconic Axarquia town so special. In the established competition organised by Hotel Info, Nerja made the final cut of 26 beautiful coastal towns on Tues-
day, before securing a glorious victory on Wednesday with more than 5,000 votes in favour. Indeed Nerja dominated the finals with a resounding 5,173 votes compared to 4,016 for second-placed Ortigueira in A Coruna, and Rota in Cadiz which won 2,119 ayes to secure third spot. The votes were cast by online users at the Hotel Info website, which is a prestigious accommodation reservation portal and highly representative of the broad spectrum of experienced travellers and residents across Spain. Each participating town simply had to lie on the coast and
have less than 35,000 residents and local Nerja figures were in a bolshie mood in predicting an easy victory for the pristine town which has deftly avoided the rampant commercialism accompanying Spain’s tourist boom. Commonwealth president Gregorio Campos was confident of success, reminding anyone still on the fence to “think of the Nerja Caves, which are a universal monument for their historical, artistic, biological, and geological values, or the Balcon de Europa which is full of tourists every day of the year,” before having a sly dig at the other leading contestants.
The result will be warmly welcomed by Nerja’s local authorities, and indeed by those of Malaga Province, who see its new status as Spain’s most charming coastal town as providing an excellent boon to the local economy, while ensuring that its heritage remains protected and intact.
See page 7
Easy application VELEZ-MALAGA has announced that it is now possible to apply for permission to use barbecues at five different beach areas. There is an online applica-
tion form available from the town hall’s website, and confirmation will be sent by SMS within 72 hours. See page 8