Plans for bathing area and open-air auditorium in popular Costa del Sol park

María Zambrano park in Vélez-Málaga on the eastern Costa del Sol welcomes thousands of visitors every year who enjoy the natural environment, children's play areas, sports facilities and lake. For this reason, the town hall is now looking to improve the area. A few weeks ago cleaning work was carried out on the lake and now work is under way to promote a lake-style bathing area and an open-air auditorium.

The mayor of Vélez, Jesús Lupiáñez, has announced the commissioning of an "ambitious project" in María Zambrano Park, inspired by the artificial lakes for recreational use that exist in large European cities, as well as the possible incorporation of an open-air auditorium.

"It is an exciting, transformative project with enormous symbolic significance, because it stems from one of the residents' greatest aspirations: to be able to enjoy a public swimming pool in our town," the mayor explained.

He went on to say that the swimming area would not be "a conventional swimming pool", but rather "a bathing area integrated into the natural environment, with a design that evokes a lake, designed for cooling off in the summer months and enjoying a green and pleasant environment with the family. Something modern, beautiful and designed with environmental sensitivity".

Along with the bathing area, the commission includes drafting a proposal for an open-air auditorium, which would allow for outdoor concerts, theatre performances, children's shows and other events throughout the year. "Vélez-Málaga needs more open spaces for culture and leisure and what better place than the heart of one of our most visited parks," added Lupiáñez, who took the opportunity to announce that the tender for the café located next to the park's children's area will be published "shortly".

The project would also solve one of the problems in the existing pond: the uncontrolled proliferation of ducks and birds, "which has affected the balance of the environment". With this new design, functionality, cleanliness, and visual appeal will be improved, according to the mayor.

As for the possible relocation of the ducks and other birds, "different alternatives are already being considered to ensure their welfare," according to the mayor. Lupiáñez said that "contact has been re-established with several local councils in the area that may be interested in taking some of these animals into their municipalities".

The spokesperson for the opposition socialist PSOE party, Víctor González, has been highly critical of the mayor's announcement. "This is yet another idea from Lupiáñez in response to my commitment to build an outdoor public swimming pool in Vélez. What he should do is maintain María Zambrano Park, which is becoming increasingly neglected and abandoned and not alter the use that this green space in the town should have," he said in message posted on his social media accounts.

In González's opinion, "wanting to turn María Zambrano Park into an auditorium, a swimming pool, a lake with abandoned ducks that escape, is symptomatic of the lack of credible projects from a government without direction, which only knows how to organise parties and raise taxes."