Dozens of camper vans and motorhomes have been permanently evicted from a Malaga site in the latest crackdown on mobile homes.
Malaga City Council has given residents parked next to Sacaba Beach just days to leave the area or risk having their vehicles towed by police.
The council claims the eviction is necessary for ‘cleanliness and public health’, but those living there say the real reason is to assuage the future owners of luxury flats being built nearby.
District councillor Francisco Pomares confirmed the eviction will be permanent.
‘We’re going to clear the entire site and install bollards so vehicles can’t get back onto the land,’ he said.
The settlement sits just 200 metres from a residential tower currently under construction, where penthouses with sea views are reportedly being marketed for close to €10million.
Those affected have launched a campaign under the slogan Sacaba no se toca (‘Hands off Sacaba’), arguing the area has become home for dozens of people who cannot afford conventional housing.
‘Behind every vehicle is a person who, because of Malaga’s housing crisis, has found their only alternative here,’ the group said.
They claim Local Police informed them verbally that, after the site is cleared, they will never be allowed to return.
Residents have questioned who the redevelopment is really for.
‘Who benefits from this change? The people living in the new luxury towers? At whose expense?’ they wrote on social media, describing Sacaba as part of Malaga’s identity.
Malaga City Council, however, insists the settlement has become a serious safety and neighbourhood issue.
Pomares said complaints from nearby residents in Sacaba and Parque Litoral had been mounting for months, adding that an armed shooting earlier this year and a recent caravan fire had reinforced the need to act.
‘The neighbours have had enough,’ he said. ‘They simply can’t continue living alongside this situation.’
The councillor also argued the site lacks even the most basic infrastructure needed for people to live there.
‘There are sewage problems and this land isn’t authorised for camping or even parking. I have nothing against caravans, but they should be on properly equipped sites that meet safety standards.’
Once the area has been cleared, the council plans to install bollards to stop vehicles re-entering the former Repsol-owned plot.
Officials decided against fencing it off after previous barriers reportedly led to another informal settlement forming alongside the perimeter.
The eviction comes just weeks after Malaga City Council pledged to draw up a census of people living in motorhomes and develop a social support plan for families forced into vehicle living because they cannot access affordable housing.
Earlier this year, local media estimated that more than 50 caravans and camper vans were occupying the Sacaba site, with some residents saying they had lived there for more than a decade.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
