The Urban Planning Management selects García de los Reyes to draft the Special Plan for the Historic Centre and its catalogue, a process requested by the Board for over a decade.
The Municipal Urban Planning Management has finally awarded the drafting of the Special Protection Plan for the Historic Centre of Málaga and the update of the Catalogue of Protected Real Estate, a task that has been pending for more than a decade. The Granada-based architecture firm García de los Reyes, in collaboration with Committed Cities Development, will be responsible for preparing the document, with a budget of €545,710 and a deadline of 26 months.
The only proposal submitted scored 96.5 points out of 100, according to the file. This is not the first time these architects have shown interest in the task: they were the only bidders in the 2018 competition to update the catalogue of protected buildings, a contract that was halted due to appeals from the Architects' Association and which the courts resolved in favour of the City Council two years ago.
The Andalusian Government has been demanding since 2012 the adaptation of the planning of the Centre to the Andalusian Historical Heritage Law, after the historic ensemble was registered as a cultural asset. The current PEPRI, drafted in 1989, is outdated and has caused continuous conflicts between both administrations over parcel alignments.
With the new plan, the City Council will be able to take on responsibilities to directly authorise works in the Centre, except those affecting monuments, historic gardens, or archaeological areas. Currently, any minimal intervention—from an elevator to an electrical connection—must go through the Culture delegation.
The contract includes a public participation process to gather suggestions and the drafting of documentation for environmental authorisation. The new planning is not expected to come into force before 2028, given that the execution period is paused during public information procedures and reports from other administrations.
For the residents and merchants of the Centre, the measure will mean a reduction in timelines for minor work permits, although it will take more than two years to see the first practical effects.
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