Marbella Mayoress, Angeles Munoz, stressed the importance of entrepreneurs in the local economy and the overall growth of the region. She was speaking at a luncheon event hosted on April 7 (Friday) by the Network of Entrepreneurs in Marbella (Red de Emprendedoras de Marbella) in the Hotel Don Pepe on its first anniversary.

“Entrepreneurs have been absolutely vital in the development of Marbella and I am convinced that they will remain so,” Munoz said, “the local government will encourage them with all necessary requirements.”

Praising the collective effort of the local executives, the Mayor further highlighted some new government measures, including e-governance and better regulation, which come to the benefit of professionals with an entrepreneurial spirit for their business start-up.

Munoz also reminded that “the times of crisis are also times of opportunity”, and emphasised that the approval of Marbella Urban Plan (PGOU) will bring legal certainty and create enormous possibilities for all sectors.

The Marbella Entrepreneurs Network was born a year ago through the initiative of several women entrepreneurs with professional synergies in the area. And currently the forum has more than 70 companies.

It is to mention here that the City Council has been facilitating business and investments in Marbella by hosting various business seminars and better coordination and interaction between entrepreneurs and local authority. Moreover, the approval of new Urban Plan will certainly create new opportunities with stability.

Recently, the Marbella City Council has presented a project named “Marbella Open City” which is, in fact, a campaign aimed at corporate and social integration of the international community living in the municipality. It is an attempt to bring 137 nationalities living in Marbella into the business mainstream, directly or indirectly.

The project will include different course of action for better cooperation and participation of international community for the economic and urban development of Marbella. With the approval of Marbella PGOU Urban Plan, the town hall is encouraging investors to see Marbella as one of the key business points along the Costa del Sol.

Describing the international community as an “an enriching factor”, the City Council stresses that “Marbella Open City” is a mechanisms for achieving a bright future and in this sense, it is essential to further collaboration with different nationalities who are living in the city.

Moreover, Marbella mayoress Angeles Munoz closed the trading of NASDAQ in New York City and this was a part of institutional promotion, where Munoz had emphasised on the economic potential of Marbella on the New York Stock Exchange.

In addition, as per a Govt report, in the first quarter of this year the number of homes that have sold in Marbella and the subsequent payment of capital gains has been most significant since 2006. It is certainly a sign of recovering economy which is vital to regain the trust of investors.

Even the Annual Entrepreneur Assembly Marbella, to be held on April 14^th (at El Palacio de Congresos), is also a part of government initiative to integrate both local and international business by various means for the expansion of growth prospective of the town. All in all, “Marbella Open City” symbolizes an open market with numerous business possibilities to look for.

In order to raise awareness of the environment, the Palacio de Congresos de Marbella is hosting the first Environment and Tourism Real Estate Fair in Costa del Sol, scheduled between days July 21 and July 25. This has been planned in a large scale and hence expected to attract a good number of participants.

As per the details from the Town Hall website, the event will feature more than 35 companies participating with exhibitors and it is expected that special initiatives like competition, tour ideas and a series of lectures will receive an attendance of between four and five thousand people in its very first edition.

Jose Luis Hernandez, the Councillor for Tourism, in a press statement stated that the fair comes at a good time with positive expectations, following the adoption of General Plan and also the idea to emphasize and reinforce Marbella position in the field of residential tourism.

Pablo Moro, councillor for Town Planning, also emphasized on the adoption of PGOU in the town planning which certainly reiterates the fact that Marbella again be a great opportunity for any investment initiative- strategic projects for the development or new services and infrastructures in the city.

Unlike other trade shows, it’s been highlighted that the fair features various contests of ideas, a series of lectures, and a series of tours to raise awareness of the environment, as one of the core objectives of the programme.

The exhibition will have two sections: one for professional meeting (design competition, lecture series, laboratory of ideas, virtual agenda and work shop) and the other to the general public which includes exhibition, advice for foreign tour operators, etc.). The fair will be limited to professionals in a first phase (July 21 and 22) and open to the general public from July 23 to 25.

Ángeles Muñoz, a member of Partido Popular, was officially sworn in as the Mayor of Marbella on 16^th June 2007 after the local election, following the Malaya corruption case. With a huge challenge in the administrative front when the then mayor and deputy mayor were booked under money laundering property development offences, she certainly stood up for the test.

Born in Cordoba on January 20^th 1960, Angeles served as a doctor after graduating in medicine from University of Cordoba in 1983. She first took a leave from her professional life and entered active politics when she became Deputy Mayor of Benahavís. And the following year, she was elected as a member of Andaluz Parliament in 1996.

As a member in the regional parliament and spokesperson on various committees on the behalf of her ruling party, Ángeles Muñoz took up many developmental and progressive steps. She was also appointed as Partido Popular’s regional executive for Andalucía in the same year 1996.

In 1997, she preferred to take up a position in the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs, and hence left all other posts. She chaired the office of General Director of Migration Planning until 1999 in the José María Aznar government. In the same year she was elected as the Executive Secretary for Social Affairs at the Partido Popular’s National Executive meet.

After successfully competing for a seat in the Congress, Muñoz was appointed as the spokesperson in Congress for Social Affairs and continued with the same till January 2002. As far as her political interest in Marbella is concerned, she first contested in the election for the post of Marbella Mayor in 2003, but defeated to GIL (Independent Liberal Group) Party candidate Julián Muñoz.

Although Julián Muñoz won an absolute majority to govern Marbella, what followed is all disgrace with a string of financial and property development scandals. Julian was dismissed from the Town Hall with a vote of censure. Later in August 2003, the GIL party appointed a new mayor Marisol Yagüe but corruption never died down.

During that time, Ángeles Muñoz left all her national party posts to concentrate on her work as the spokes person in Marbella. In 2004, she returned to the Congress as a MP for Malaga. However, Muñoz and other councillors lost their seats when the City Council was dissolved in the wake of ingrained corruption in the public offices.

The “Operation Malaya” of 2006 unleashed the deep rooted corruption in this southern Spanish resort city. As part of the operation, police froze many back accounts, raided the offices of Marbella City Hall and other municipal offices with charges of irregularities in duty. Mayor Marisol Yagüe and her deputy Isabel García Marco also came under the hammer and were arrested.

Until May 2007 municipal elections, Marbella was governed by a special administrative body appointed by Malaga’s provincial government. And this time in a wave of change, Partido Popular emerged as the winner in local election and Ángeles Muñoz became the Mayor of Marbella.

Till today, she has been actively involved in a lot of populist policies to make Marbella corruption free and work for the development of the region.

One of the most important decisions during her tenure is the Marbella urban plan (PGOU) and the controversial demolition drive against the illegal properties. The issue is yet to be resolved completely as the Court and the Town Hall have varied opinion on legalisation of certain properties.

A news report published by The Observer dated October 18, 2009 revealed an alarming fact on the Marbella property market citing an already declared illegal property still on sale. The development adjacent to Banana Beach, just three-minute walk from Marbella town centre, has been declared unlawful under the new Marbella Town Planning (PGOU).

This is certainly distressing for many buyers who were to book their homes in that beachfront property in the Costa del Sol resort town. After the approval of Plan General de Ordenación Urbana in July this year, the said development has not been granted alternative license and directed for demolition. Despite this, advertisements for flats at Banana Beach are still on display in some estate websites.

The report has quoted the name of some websites where one can still find ads for Costa del Sol apartments consisting of 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms. It is to be noted that a review was conducted by the administration but no further planning permission was granted. Moreover, there is no information about the latest ruling in those websites.

Although Mayour Angeles Muñoz has granted retrospective planning arrangement for almost 18,000 “illegal” homes under the PGOU, this particular building has been ordered for demolition, probably by next year. One of the reasons may be that, Banana Beach which came into existence in 1998 already violates one law which prevents homes close to coast and the development is just 100 metres from the beach.

Many Britons who have homes at Banana Beach or some other areas in Marbella are facing the wrath of this new urban planning law. The authority has also not announced any specific compensation plan; it was in fact the result of corrupt government officials, indulged in many scams and fraudulent activities that almost ruined the Spanish property market.

Marbella Mayor, while approving the new law, has promised for strict action on any unlawful act but this report shows that, there is lot to be done. Even after almost a week of the original report published, websites like spanishpropertyworld.com and esmoz.com are yet to remove those ads featuring property starting from €259,888.

Planning irregularities and the uncertainty in legal terms have already disheartened many buyers during a time in which the market is yet to recover from the global economic meltdown. And things like this will do no good to the overall growth of Spanish property market and the impression that the country is indeed one of the favorites of foreigners, when it comes to second home or retirement.

Original report: Observer.co.uk