Eugenio Cabezas
Vélez-Málaga
Monday, 3 November 2025, 11:37
Residents living near a sixteenth century watchtower in Lagos (Vélez-Málaga) on the eastern Costa del Sol have collected around 500 signatures on a petition against new homes being built near the protected coastal site.
The Lagos watchtower is a site of cultural interest (BIC) and now Metrovacesa, Spain’s leading property developer with over a hundred years of history and 115 projects under development nationwide, has begun construction and marketing of Proa, its new development located near the watchtower. This new residential project, with an estimated investment of 14.6 million euros, “represents a further step in consolidating the company’s presence in eastern Andalucía” according to Metrovacesa.
However, the complete development, which includes up to 45 properties, is generating strong opposition from local residents, especially those closest to the watchtower. Their petition, which can be found on Change.org demands that the authorities halt the project due to its proximity to the monument.
The petition, initiated by Miguel Lucena, points out that the Lagos watchtower, “is a historical, heritage and landscape symbol of our area. It forms part of our collective memory and the historical landscape of the Axarquía and its surroundings are legally protected within a radius of 200 metres, according to the municipal catalogue of protected assets (2018)”.
However, Vélez-Málaga town hall has approved the full project which includes the construction of 12-15 homes “just 40 metres from the tower, based on a 1996 plan”. Infrastructure work is already under way, “which poses an irreversible risk to the historical and visual environment of the BIC,” argue the residents in the petition.
“The project contravenes the regulations for the protection of BIC environments, which require prior authorisation from the Department of Culture for any work that may affect the perception or integrity of the property. This development will affect the historic landscape, the collective memory and the identity of Lagos, benefiting a few developers to the detriment of the common good,” the petition explains.
The Mezquitilla and Lagos mayor’s office has publicised the petition through its social media pages. “You now have the opportunity to sign up at the Mezquitilla mayor’s office to protect our BIC, the Lagos watchtower. This neighbourhood movement requested it of us and, of course, we are always on the side of the residents,” they wrote on Facebook.
The councillor for Lagos, David Vilches (GIPMTM), has said that the property development “appears to have all the favourable technical and legal reports, as I have been informed by the councillor for urban planning, Celestino Rivas. We at the mayor’s office are simply echoing a neighbourhood demand, but that does not mean that we are against or in favour of it. We listen to them and help them, but if the development has, as it seems, all the permits and approvals, there is little we can do,” he told SUR.