Vélez-Málaga residents rally against controversial new rubbish charge

More than 200 people have joined a new citizens' group and will protest  this week over the way the new household and business bills have been applied

A new residents' group in Vélez-Málaga has already attracted more than 200 members as anger continues to grow over the municipality's new rubbish charge.

The Plataforma Ciudadana Término Municipal de Vélez-Málaga will join a protest at 8:00 pm on Wednesday October 7 in Plaza de las Carmelitas, outside the Ayuntamiento. The group was presented last week, with residents from different parts of the municipality coming together over concerns about the new bills, both for homes and businesses. The platform is politically independent and open to anyone affected by the charge.

One of its main aims is to help residents and business owners understand their bills and challenge them where they believe something is wrong. The platform plans to collect individual cases and help people submit claims to the relevant authorities.

Particular concerns have been raised by the self-employed, professionals and businesses, including cases where people believe they may have been charged twice or where the surface area used to calculate a bill appears to be incorrect.

The dispute has been building for months. In August, protests by residents and shopkeepers became so tense that a full council meeting had to be suspended early. More than 50 members of the public then attended the September council meeting, where the new charge was debated again.

The three opposition groups, Andalucía por Sí, PSOE and Vox, later called for the new charge to be suspended. Their motion was rejected on September 22, with the PP and GIPMTM voting against it.

The Ayuntamiento says there is no reason to suspend collection across the board, but it has agreed with Málaga's provincial tax collection authority to examine individual cases where errors may have occurred. Anyone who believes their bill is incorrect is being advised to submit an appeal for it to be reviewed.

For residential properties, the annual charge is expected to range from €101.86 to €135.54. Business bills vary according to factors including the size and type of premises and the amount of waste expected to be produced.

The Ayuntamiento expects the new charge to bring in around €7.2 million a year, while some households may qualify for reductions of up to 95%, with eligible large families able to receive discounts of up to 50%.

The new platform says it intends to continue representing residents beyond the current dispute, giving people a place to raise other issues affecting the municipality.

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