Alhaurín de la Torre changes course on Torrealquería. Over 400 VPO homes planned

The Ayuntamiento de Alhaurín de la Torre (town hall) has taken what it calls a decisive step towards one of its largest protected housing schemes. According to the town hall, its local governing board has approved starting the process to change the urban development system for the Ensanche de Torrealquería sector, with more than 400 VPO homes planned. VPO (vivienda de protección oficial) is Spain's subsidised, officially protected housing.

Key facts

• Sector: SURO UR-TQ-01, known as the Ensanche de Torrealquería.
• Change: from the expropriation system to the cooperation system.
• Size: 273,173 square metres, which the town hall says would almost double the urban area of the existing Torrealquería.
• Homes: more than 400 VPO, with a possible increase if taller buildings are approved.
• Land purchase: more than €1 million, including taxes, according to Mayor Joaquín Villanova.

Twenty years of delay

The town hall says the sector's first partial plans and agreements date from 2006 and 2008. It then stood still for two decades, because the original developers missed deadlines and SAREB later entered the picture. SAREB is the state-backed bad bank for assets from the banking restructuring, 51% state-owned, and it ended up holding most of the land and rights.

To get the land for protected housing, the mayor proposed that it be transferred to the town hall. The council then began a process to move from the compensation system to public expropriation because deadlines had been missed. SAREB lodged objections to that route, which the town hall says threatened complex procedures, high costs and likely court appeals.

The deal with SAREB

After what the town hall describes as months of intense negotiation by the mayor, the council in June formalised the direct purchase of several plots from SAREB. It also bought the mortgage loans that weighed on the sector's land. The town hall says SAREB is now fully out of the picture and the council holds the majority legal position, which is why the system is being changed again, this time to cooperation.

Villanova put the cost of the land at more than a million euros including taxes, and the total asset value of all the land at around €12 million. He said: "Ahora tenemos la posición mayoritaria y vamos a tirar del carro para hacer las calles y urbanizar todo el sector para impulsar numerosas VPO" (roughly: we now hold the majority position and will push ahead with building the streets and developing the whole sector).

What cooperation means

The town hall says that, unlike expropriation, the cooperation system means it does not have to pay compensation for all of the land. The local authority directs and carries out the project, and the cost of the urbanisation works is shared equally among all owners. The council argues this cuts bureaucracy and the burden on public finances, and allows works to start faster.

Villanova also announced that a change in building type is being studied, to allow greater height and fit in even more homes.

Other protected housing projects

The mayor listed other VPO schemes in the municipality. One is a plot, also in Torrealquería, awarded for around 50 homes. Two more, in La Huertecilla and La Calera, could add 120 homes. In all three cases the town hall is waiting for the developers to prepare detail studies.

Villanova said developers' main complaint is "burocracia" and "excesivo papeleo", and called for legislative changes to speed up land availability and construction. He described a "grave escasez de vivienda" that he said is not just a local problem but one across Spain, whose solution "debe partir del Estado".

How to apply

The town hall says the essential requirement for applying for protected housing in the municipality is to be registered in the corresponding register. It offers an online registration tool at vivienda.alhaurindelatorre.es.

The account above is based on the town hall's own statement. The town hall says it has been working since late 2022 to gain ownership of the land.