The Suprerior Court of Justice of Andalusia (TSJA) has declared the developable land on which the hotel “The Algarrobico” is built, in the municipality of Carboneras, Almeria, within of the Natural Park of Cabo de Gata-Nijar.
The Hotel "The Algarrobico", Carboneras, Almería, South eastern Spain
The TSJA, in a judgment, finds that it was well qualified in the Plan for Natural Resources (PORN) of the Natural Park of Cabo de Gata, in 1994, and it revokes the level of protection that was given in the new law passed in 2008.
The judgment of the Third Section, at the request of an appeal by Azata del Sol, the hotel developer, contradicts previous rulings of that same Court and the Supreme. The Junta de Andalucía and the State Legal Advisers had asked last January TSJA confirming the verdict it necessary to revise the administrative act of the City of Carboneras, by which planning permission was granted to the developer.
Carboneras - Almería, by R. Fernández, at flickr.com
The developer appealed the zoning established in the decree on two sections of land in the municipality of Carboneras: the area known as ST-1, known as the "The Algarrobico", which is included in the PORN approved by the decree under appeal in the C3 , and the ST-2 sector, which includes the area PORN B.1 as "natural areas of general interest and existing inhabited areas and other transformed areas".
The decision to revoke the zoning established by Decree 37/2008, and states that the level of protection from both sectors of the soil should be corresponding to other areas declared as zone D in the PORN of 2008.
This area is known for being “excluded areas of environmental zoning”, in which those areas not covered by other categories, concretely those urban and urbanizing soils, whose development include a priori, it is considered possible provided that no condition to determine their natural habitats and species for which the inclusion of this natural area in the "Natura 2000 network".
The decision of the Andalusian Court is based in both sectors are developable land, and they were included in the previous PORN 1994, it replaces the PORN 2008, at the zoning level D2, based on developable land whose development was not a priori contrary to the values of the Natural Park of Cabo de Gata Nijar.
The Court concludes that the Junta de Andalucía has not offered or in memory that accompanies PORN 2008, or in the individual reports on the record, the slightest justification for the change in the zoning of the sectors ST 1 and ST-2.
"This ruling does not directly affect the legal status of the reassessment of the building permit the Hotel Azata del Sol, in the place of the Algarrobico, as though to pronounce on the status of these lands, only resolved on a modification of zoning or level of environmental protection that is after the grant of the license and the procedure itself where that is prosecuted ex officio review", says the TSJA, in a statement.
The judgment ruled that the Junta of Andalusia had been no tampering on the plans of the previous PORN 1994, what it takes to keep the alterations made in them to reflect the zoning of the land as D2 responded to the need to save the mistake presented by the first published mapping, which stood at C1 zoning.
The developer of the hotel praised the decision of the High Court of Justice of Andalusia (TSJA), which "recognizes the reality with facts" about the condition of developable land on which it sits since 1988, "before the entry into force" the enlargement of the Natural Park Cabo de Gata-Nijar, in 1994, and "before the land were purchased, in 1999”.
The President of Azata, José Rodríguez, stated told Europa Press that the judgment of the Third Section made public on Tuesday also recognizes that they bought "with legitimate expectations", because the City Hall and the Junta and the Ministry of Environment were told "the land was developable and that the easement protection of maritime-terrestrial public domain in the coastal strip was 20 meters".
"It comes to recognize that the situation was as we were told and that was developable land since 1988 was approved definitively by the City Hall the Partial Plan of the Sector ST-1, six years before the creation of the natural park", he remarked.
For Rodriguez, the failure of the TSJA, against which no appeal, it gives in the "base key" judicial conflict over the hotel has 22 floors and 411 rooms, to collect the character of the site developable "was not right" to the PORN in 1994, which, on its face, gathered "all developable land in the municipal regulations they would remain after the entry into force of the extension of the protected area".
The Greenpeace and Ecologists in Action have announced that they will appeal to the Supreme Court the judgment of the High Court of Justice of Andalusia (TSJA) who finds that the land on which the hotel Azata del Sol, sits on the site of the Algarrobico, in Carboneras (Almería), is developable, and has maintained that suspected that there may be "hidden maneuvers" to legalize the construction.
Speaking to Europa Press, the responsible for Coasts of the organization, Pilar Marcos, has admitted the failure of the Andalusian Court, which keeps the soil is developable and it was well qualified in the Plan for Natural Resources (PORN) of the Natural Park Cabo de Gata, in 1994, has been "a jug of cold water for environmentalists".
In any case, she said that Greenpeace will appeal to the Supreme Court, a tribunal, as recalled, that resolved two precautionary measures of the TSJA, saying that "the land was not developable", which led to the Junta de Andalucía to "take that mistake and classify the area as undevelopable".
"Of all the concern is not only that the TSJA is denying all statements and pronouncements that say the area is undevelopable, but most importantly is how this small piece can have a great influence on the lawsuit, which takes two months delay, on the building permit", stressed the responsible of Coasts for the organization.
Meanwhile, the lawyer of Ecologists in Action, Jose Ignacio Dominguez, told Efe that this judgment is a "cataclysm" and he recalled that it contradicts the Supreme statements as of September 2011, that says the land is undevelopable and so as others of the TSJA.
"We will also appeal to the Constitutional Court, because we learned all this on March 7", because the case was under way in the second section, "and on February 24, they decided to pass it on to the third section and appoint a new rapporteur".
Meanwhile, the president of Save Mojacar, Jaime del Val, has announced that they will lodge a criminal complaint against the speaker of the judgment of the High Court of Justice of Andalusia (TSJA), declaring developable floor where the hotel “The Algarrobico” stands in Carboneras (Almería). Speaking to EFE, Del Val reported that the legal services of the environmental group will study a possible lawsuit for alleged breach of trust by an "unjust sentence that contradicts earlier in regard to the character of the developable floors of the hotel ".
I hope this new decision of the TSJA allows Almería to have more tourists, to appreciate their riches and ends with the image that has unjustly in this province, as the least valued of Andalusia.
Till soon, kind regards,
Luis.
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