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A permit followed by a court battle
The history of the hotel is complex, but understanding the timeline can help explain how a tourism project can go wrong when political, financial and environmental interests are misaligned.
Cabo de Gata was declared a nature park in 1987. Covering approximately 150 square miles of volcanic land, the park encompasses open plains, scrub hills and coves. It also includes several existing fishing villages and former mining settlements. When the park was created, the local municipality of Carboneras re-labeled part of the protected area as buildable land. It was eventually bought by Azata, a Spanish property developer, and later obtained a local permit to build the beachfront hotel in 2003. Other buildings nearby are private homes built before the park was created.
Environmental activists, who argued that the hotel was in violation of the park’s conservation status, went to court in 2006, when the hotel was about to come to the final stage of construction, and applied to the judge to freeze the project. A decade-long court battle continued until, after several appeals, the Spanish Supreme Court ruled that the hotel violated the park’s conservation laws.
Then a new court battle ensued over who would be responsible for the hotel’s destruction and who would pay for the rehabilitation of the surrounding landscape.
As the case dragged on with more than 20 separate judgments, the hotel itself began to rot. Its white façade has been defaced with graffiti, and the Spanish word “destruction” is drawn in large blue letters over one of the bay windows.
Unlike the Aqaba movie set, which was quickly dispersed with the help of local villagers who rushed to reuse the plywood planks, there is no clear end in sight for this disastrous hotel. Andalusia’s highest district court in recent developments managed In July, property developer Azata said the hotel did not need to be demolished because it had a valid building permit. Azata did not respond to a request for comment.
Beautiful beaches, ugly seaside towns
In 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic began, Spain was almost the second most popular destination in the world, after France and ahead of the United States. 84 million international visitors. A significant number traveled to the fine sandy beaches of eastern and southern Spain, often staying in densely built resorts that also cater to tourists, such as in the skyscraper town of Benidorm. Amidst this sea of concrete, Cabo de Gata offered a stark contrast.
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