La Línea edges closer to ‘leap into 21st century’ as new urban plan officially presented

by Maria Jesus Corrales

La Línea city council officially presented its new urban plan (Plan General de Ordenación Urbana or PGOU, in Spanish) yesterday, replacing the previous one that has guided the city’s development for more than 40 years.

Studied and drafted for over six years, the PGOU will allow the council to designate and rezone land for use and promote the modernisation of the city’s infrastructure through urban regeneration projects, while boosting its economy with flagship projects such as the proposed technology park on the current fairgrounds.

With the official presentation, the last step before the urban plan goes into force is its publication in the Junta de Andalucía’s official gazette, which will probably occur within the next few days.

La Línea’s mayor, Juan Franco, underlined how the PGOU “will enable us to build the foundations for the future for the city,” but tempered expectations and asked for a little patience as the benefits would not be felt immediately.

The councillor responsible for urban planning, Daniel Martínez, said that “this document solves issues that the city has been facing for 40 years and we can’t wait to get going.”

CEO of the PGOU’s architects, José Seguí, spoke at the unveiling, saying that “this project will make the town a landmark.”

He said his company, Estudio Seguí, took note of La Línea’s unique location - linking the Rock and Bay of Gibraltar to the Costa del Sol, uniting the Mediterranean and the Atlantic - and added that the city had all it needed to make the leap into the 21st century and be able to meet any city on the Costa del Sol as an equal.

Javier Rodríguez Ros, the Junta de Andalucía’s delegate to the Campo, stressed that the PGOU was “a model of the cooperative work between the Junta and local authorities.”

“We want the best for [Andalucía] and for the future of its municipalities. This urban plan is a key tool for La Línea's future, and it will define the use of its land”.

The PGOU is expected to allow the city to take advantage of its already-existing radial structure, while adding a northern axis and bypass.

The promenades on the Levante and Poniente coastlines will be redeveloped, and new streets will make the town more accessible.

A number of local landmark projects will underpin the city’s renewal, such as the municipal stadium, Fort Santa Barbara, the new fairgrounds, the technology park, the Junquillos socio-cultural centre, the Zabal industrial area and the redevelopment of the La Atunara marina.