Spain is still a dream destination for many British people looking to purchase overseas property, it has been claimed.

According to southern Spanish newspaper Sur, many UK buyers are undeterred by recent negative publicity surrounding foreign property investment and view Spain as one of the most desirable places in the world to own a home.

Sur made these comments after attending the recent Homebuyers and Property Investors Exhibition at the ExCel centre in London, where many Britons spoke to the newspaper about their hopes of moving to Spain or buying a second home on the southern Costas.

Rebekah Lowe of Livingstone Estates told Sur that although some professional investors may be tempted by emerging markets where prices are lower, people looking to buy a property for their own use will continue to be attracted to Spain.

“Spain is for living in and people will always want Spanish properties,” she commented.

According to a recent report from Spanish property website Kyero.com, coastal regions such as the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol remain “at the fore of the public psyche” for UK people hoping to move abroad.

A new marina is scheduled to be constructed in Mijas in order to boost the number of berths in the Costa del Sol region.

The Empresa Publica de Puertos de Andalucia, or Public Company of Andalucian Ports, reports that the new development will contain between 800 and 1,000 berths following an investment of €50 million (£38 million).

More investment is likely to follow, while there are also plans to incorporate two docks for transatlantic cruisers, which could increase access to the coast for tourists visiting the area.

Hotels, shops and other leisure facilities will be built around the marina, and Homes Worldwide suggests that now could be the ideal time to purchase a property nearby.

The Spanish Fiestas website states that “Mijas Pueblo stands high up the mountain above the coastal resorts and is a popular half-day excursion from the Costa del Sol, whilst Mijas Costa is the resort on the coast below which attracts mass tourism to its many attractions.”

The company that developed Manchester’s Trafford Centre shopping complex is to try and recreate the plans on the Costa del Sol.

Peel Holdings has been given the go ahead to build a shopping mall similar in design to the one in north-west England, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Torremolinos will be the location for the 80-acre site, which is said to cost £500 million to construct.

Lindsey Ashworth, who is set to lead the project, told the newspaper: “While there will obviously be a flavour of the original Trafford Centre, the major difference is, because it’s in a warm climate, it can be outward-facing.”

The company representative added that bars and restaurants around the complex will have terracing, while some will be constructed around a lake.

Millions of Britons head to the Costa del Sol for their holidays every year, while many decide to purchase property in this part of Spain.

A new book has been written highlighting the famous names that have had some association with the beautiful village of Churriana, according to reports.

Local historian Cristobal Salazar has written a book Personajes de Churriana, which tells the tale of the Malaga district and the characters that have come from it.

Among the famous names are writer Ernest Hemingway who celebrated his 60th birthday at La Consula in July 1959.

Many influential names have been attracted by Churriana’s estates including El Retiro and San Javier.

Among them are Julio Caro Baroja, an anthropologist and the nephew of writer Pio Baroja.

Poet Maria Victoria Atenda and musician Francisco Martin Pino were some of the names who attended the launch of the book at Malaga City Hall.

The city hall has produced a thousand copies of the book, which can be purchased from the Junta de Distrito offices.

Malaga is full of history, with a number of exhibitions taking place throughout the year. One such exhibition is that of the Malaga artist Rafael Perez Estrada, which opened on April 23rd 2003 in the lower floor gallery of the Municipal Archives, Almeda Principal.

Leap year babies are being invited to celebrate their unusual birth dates together in style by attending a huge party in Malaga this year.

The Leap Association of people born on February 29th is organising the event, which hopes to bring together as many leap year babies as possible.

It is hoped that the get-together will get into the Guinness World Records for the highest number of people born on February 29th getting together in the same place.

The current record is held the gathering of 340 leap year babies which took place in Norway.

The celebration will be held at the La Brasa restaurant in the Alameda Principal.

Malaga is a great place to celebrate in style and has been increasing in popularity in recent years, since the opening of its Picasso Museum in 2003.

Over the next ten years, it is expected that many improvements will be made to the city as it vies for the title of European Culture Capital in the year 2016.

The regional government of Andalucia is attempting to make the area safer by banning the ownership of dangerous animals.

Under the new system, large reptiles, poisonous insects and large primates will not be allowed in Andalucian households and people who flout the law could be hit with a fine of €115,000

People living in the region who already own such pets will be given a six-month period to take the forbidden animal to their local city hall and hand it over, Homes Worldwide reports.

Andalucia is the first region in Spain to introduce this type of legislation and officials hope that the new law will prevent deadly species such as snakes from escaping into rural areas and breeding.

The regional government believes that the regulations should enable homeowners on the Costa del Sol to live in a safer environment.

According to southern Spanish newspaper Sur, the new regulations also include an extensive reclassification of dangerous dog categories.

A growing number of British companies are recruiting expatriates living in southern Spain, it has emerged.

Due to a shortage of candidates in the domestic market, many firms are looking further afield to fill their vacancies, with technological advances meaning that workers do not need to be based in the same country as their employer to do their job.

PersonnelToday.com reports that telemarketing company Sense On Hold recently added ten British people living in Spain to its workforce. The new employees will not even have to travel back to the UK for initial training, as all elements of the job can be conducted online.

Recruitment expert Steve Mosser told the website: “The idea behind recruiting expats is that it doesn’t matter where you are to do this job, as long as you fill certain criteria.”

This arrangement means that British property owners on the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca could enjoy all the benefits of living in Spain while working for a company based in their home country.

Property website BuyAssociation recently stated that many of the UK’s first-time homebuyers are looking to get on the property ladder in Spain because of the country’s more relaxed buying process.

Next week will see a celebration of the cultural links between Ireland and southern Spain take place in the city of Malaga.

Famous throughout the art world as the birthplace of Pablo Picasso, Malaga was also the occasional home of one of Ireland’s most celebrated painters, George Campbell.

To coincide with the visit of an Irish tourism delegation to the Costa del Sol next week, a documentary film about Campbell’s life will be shown in tribute to the great artist, who died in 1979.

Born in County Wicklow, Campbell grew up in Belfast but made yearly trips to Spain for much of his adult life and established a second home in Malaga, where he would do much of his painting.

In recognition of his efforts to promote relations between Ireland and Spain, a street in Malaga was named after Campbell in 2005.

The Looking for George Campbell film will be shown at Malaga’s Castillo de Santa Catalina Hotel on February 27th.

Spain’s contribution to the world of art was recently celebrated in Andrew Graham-Dixon’s three-part BBC series The Art of Spain.

A new glass roof is currently being added to the famous cathedral in Malaga city to address a long-term problem with a leak.

Work on the roof is “progressing well” and should be completed in 12 month’s time, Typically Spanish reports.

The new glass structure is being built above the existing roof to give the cathedral more protection from the elements, with funding provided by a joint agreement between Malaga City Hall and the Junta de Andalucia.

According to the website, the 22 domes in the roof area of the cathedral will be preserved during the renovation work.

Built during the 17th century, Malaga Cathedral is known affectionately as La Manquita - loosely translated as ‘the one armed woman’ - by local people in the Costa del Sol city. This is because the building only has one tower, despite the original plans featuring two.

Combining elements of Renaissance and Baroque styles, the interior of the cathedral contains statues of saints carved by Pedro de Mena, one of Spain’s most revered craftsmen who spent several years of his life in Malaga.

Spanish utility company Gas Natural has announced plans to extend its services to several Costa del Sol locations which are without a mains gas supply.

The firm currently provides 54 Andalucian municipalities with gas via pipeline and is now bringing its supply to Estepona in the west and Nerja in the east, Typically Spanish reports.

Marbella will also benefit from a new gas supply - it is currently the only place in the country with a population of over 100,000 that is not connected to mains gas, according to the website.

Based in Barcelona, Gas Natural has recently set up a natural liquid gas plant in Velez-Malaga.

The expansion of the gas network on the Costa del Sol is set to continue throughout the year, subject to government authorisation.

Velez-Malaga’s mayor recently requested funding from the Junta de Andalucia in order to boost the city’s tram system, encouraging residents to take public transport and keep carbon emissions down.