A luxury holiday resort on a Spanish island not far from Madrid is to be completely demolished. This has now been decided by the highest court in Spain.
La Isla de Valdecañas – Although the tourism industry has suffered greatly due to the Corona pandemic *, Spain is still one of the most popular holiday destinations for Germans. Now a luxury resort that has been built on the Spanish island of La Isla de Valdecañas, including a golf course, an artificial beach and 185 villas, has to be demolished. This was the decision of the highest court in Spain after a 14-year legal dispute.
But what is behind it? As CNN reported, the environmental organization Ecologistas en Acción had been suing the project for 14 years. The luxury resort west of Madrid was built in a nature reserve. The demand of the environmentalists: the area should be restored to its original condition.
Luxury resort in Spain must be demolished: Court requests demolition
In June 2020, the Spanish court in Extremadura ruled that the luxury complex with the buildings already in use should be allowed to remain as they do not cause environmental damage. CNN reported. According to the verdict, the cost of destroying the project was estimated at around 34 million euros. According to CNN, the owners’ compensation was estimated at around 111 million euros.
Accordingly, demolition of the resort was ruled out for economic reasons. Because: The local authorities of Extremadura should have paid for it in the first place. Only plants that are still in the construction phase should be destroyed. However, the verdict on Tuesday (February 8th, 2022) overrode the previous decisions and requested the demolition of the entire facility.
Today we celebrate a great victory: the Supreme Court has upheld the appeal of Ecologists in Action against the order of the TSJ of Extremadura. The luxury development built in Valdecañas (Extremadura) will be completely demolished.
We continue! ✊🏾💚https://t.co/IrBzyLospN
– Ecologists in Action (@ecologistas) February 8, 2022
Luxury complex in Spain before demolition: government wants to appeal
According to CNN, Guillermo Fernández Vara, President of the Extramadura regional government, is now trying to appeal to the Spanish Constitutional Court. As the activists of Ecologistas en Acción explained in a statement, the organization “acted only out of a desire to comply with the law”. They also wanted to prevent a “dangerous precedent” so that the demolition of other illegally built buildings would not be “declared impossible”.
According to information from stern.de, the luxury resort Marina Isla de Valdecañas with 135 hectares was built between 2007 and 2011 with the approval of the regional authorities in the Extremadura region. (kas) *hna.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
The BUND Hessen wants to prevent the forest clearing* of the overburden heap of the K+S Hattorf site through court proceedings.
