Sleepy Malaga town loved by Brits sees biggest population surge in Andalucia: Mayor faces ‘challenge’ to manage the growth – CSN News

TORROX has literally boomed in Andalucia, with a population increase of over a third within just eight years.

The city has 22,345 residents and 100 different nationalities, including British and German immigrants.

Tourist housing is unlimited, but it’s managed in a way that benefits everyone.

READ MORE

Calaceite and Puerto Narixa, two new urban developments, are in the pipeline.

Oscar Medina, Torrox’s mayor, stated: “This development is important, but it cannot be done at any cost. We must consider multiple factors such as the housing of tourists.”

Jose Antonio Perez (CEO of Real Estate Business School, Rebs), said that the correct balance is being attained.

He said for growth to be sustained, it must be developed along with services, employment opportunities, and housing.

Perez said: “Torrox is growing in residential and seasonal tourism since the 1980s. This includes abandoned mini-farmhouses that have been converted into rural homes, and deteriorated village house that are rehabilitated and used by non-residents.

Torrox is home to 1,042 homes registered as tourist properties. This represents just over 5%.

Perez does not see this number and future increases as a problem.

He said that “Torrox, with its rural and village houses and tourist market, has been able to balance the two markets for many decades.”

The province has the highest number of new homes, as well as renovated properties, which attracts residents from Malaga City and the neighbouring municipalities because of housing availability, quality and price.

He said: “These homes are not harmful to Torrox, as they bring employment, talent and consumption. They also generate taxes, provided infrastructures and services continue to grow and adapt, which they do.”