A new residential development north of Marbella town centre is moving forward after years of planning, with 156 detached homes planned on a site close to La Cañada shopping centre.

Marbella council is preparing to approve infrastructure works for the URP-MB-2 sector, covering more than 105,000 sqm north of the town centre.

More than 30 years in the planning

The development is governed by a partial development plan originally approved in 1991, but progress has been complicated by the site’s proximity to the Trapiche del Prado, a historic sugar mill complex that has been officially protected since 2007.

More recently, the project has spent more than six years working its way through administrative procedures, including archaeological investigations and environmental approvals. An Integrated Environmental Authorisation from the Andalusian regional government has now cleared the way for the urbanisation works to proceed.

The plans envisage around 156 detached homes, along with a 4,000 sqm plot for private sports facilities.

More than 25,000 sqm will be allocated to green spaces, while 44,000 sqm is earmarked for public facilities, including educational and social uses. The development will also include 251 private parking spaces and 127 public spaces, four of them reserved for people with reduced mobility.

Around 12,500 sqm will be devoted to roads and pedestrian areas.

€8m infrastructure works

The site’s topography presents one of the main construction challenges. Its elevation and slopes mean the infrastructure works will require substantial earthworks, retaining walls, paving and drainage networks.

The budget for the urbanisation works is approximately €8 million.

Once completed, the project will add a sizeable new area of low-density housing to the northern side of Marbella, close to the existing urban area and La Cañada, while development around the protected Trapiche del Prado will remain subject to heritage constraints.