Site of old (illegal) dump in Torremolinos mountains.
Credit: Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Costa del Sol Occidental.
Authorities along the Costa del Sol have been waking up to the fact that the attraction to leisure time at the beach is limited to less than half of the year, when what is needed is year-round outdoor space for sport, fresh air and fun.
2025 saw the Gran Parque Costa del Sol open in Las Lagunas de Mijas, a 27-hectare space, roughly the size of 38 standard football pitches. Torremolinos is now getting in on the act with its own “gran parque” also on a massive scale.
Mayor of Torremolinos, Margarita del Cid recently announced plans to convert the site of the town’s former (illegal) landfill into a healthy public space. Once dubbed the “last major urban waste dump in Andalucia”, the plan is to turn it into a vast suburban park featuring family-friendly leisure areas and an open-air auditorium for large-scale concerts and events.
Old dump to be transformed into eco-friendly public park in Torremolinos
The 52,300-square-metre site, located at the foot of the mountains, used to operate without permits from 1990 to 2011, and accumulated 1.6 million cubic metres of waste. Sealing works, funded with around €7 million and involving the relocation of nearly 684,000 cubic metres of rubbish plus the planting of over 75,000 shrubs for decontamination, were completed by late summer 2025. The land cannot be classified as “urbanisable” and fit for real estate development due to its history as a dump and the possibility of contaminants still deep in the soil.
Del Cid, having now spent four years in office, described the project as a “regenerative” initiative to create a major recreational spot and new green lung for the town. The park is expected to become a key attraction on the Costa del Sol, complementing recent openings like the Gran Parque in Mijas, a few kilometres down the road.
The mayor highlighted the transformation as part of broader urban renewal efforts, emphasising public-private collaboration and strategic planning to secure funding for infrastructure. This ambitious redevelopment turns a long-standing environmental eyesore into a vibrant community asset, which will offer year-round outdoor enjoyment for everyone.