After 14 years of legal battles, environmentalists in Spain have won.
The country’s supreme court overturned a 2020 regional court ruling and ordered the demolition of all luxury resort buildings built in a conservation area on Marina Isla de Valdecañas and the golf course “brought back to its former natural state.” The island, located in a reservoir located two hours from Madrid, has 185 villas, a four-star hotel and an artificial beach.
The construction of the resort began in 2007, and in 2010 it opened and became a popular holiday destination for wealthy residents of the capital. However, plans to build hundreds of new villas and a second hotel were blocked after environmental groups sued the owners of the resort, alleging that it was built illegally on a site that is home to a number of endangered animal species.
The destruction of the resort will cost approximately $165 million, including compensation to villa owners. “All of this could have been avoided if our calls had been heeded in a timely manner not to allow the construction of a resort in this place,” said a lawyer representing environmental organizations.
Newspaper headline:
Break, don’t build