Malaga Mayor under pressure to clamp down on noise pollution

Malaga’s ongoing battle with noise pollution in the Plaza Mitjana is still being debated.

Local residents near the Plaza Mitjana have asked Malaga City Council for effective measures against excessive noise from bars, including extra vigilance from authorities, temporary closures or sanctions writes Malaga Hoy.

On April 26, International Noise Awareness Day, members of the Centro Antiguo de Málaga asked Malaga City Council to enforce the sentence won by three residents of Plaza Mitjana in 2022. They also asked for clarification, ‘to adopt effective measures to eliminate the noise.’

The Mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre assured those in attendance that the sentence has been complied with and brought to their attention the ‘great change’ that the square has undergone to reduce noise levels, ‘it must have had a clear effect on the issue of noise.’

With regard to the compensation awarded he continued, ‘I believe that the sentence has been complied with, according to what I have heard from the Environment Department.

‘The sentence recognises a compensation of 13,000 euros per year from the time of the complaint and this has been done, 25,000 euros has been deposited in the court for each of the three neighbours, with the understanding from the Municipal Legal Department that the period is from the complaint until the confinement of the Covid in which the noise effectively stops.’

With regard to the ways undertaken to combat noise levels, de la Torre added that ‘a big change has been made in Mitjana, it is a very different square from the point of view of its use, and I understand that this must have had a clear effect on the issue of noise.’

However, the people who have been affected say that the situation remains ‘exactly the same,’ and that despite so-called improvements ‘the noise pollution limits are far exceeded.’

Residents subjected to noise pollution have claimed that their fundamental rights are being violated and have demanded stronger measures to put an end to it.

Suggestions range from greater police vigilance in the streets to sanctions in the form of temporary closures, inspections of premises or increased financial penalties.