Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)THE Supreme Court has ruled that a controversial hotel can be built inside the Cabo de Gata nature reserve.
A judge confirmed that the 50-room hotel will be developed on protected salt flats, the Campillo de Gata.
It came over an 11-year legal battle which saw both the Junta and green groups declare their opposition to the potentially harmful project.
The development – set to be undertaken by company Circulo Agroambiental – has been earmarked for 3,000 square metres of virgin land.
The license was originally granted by the then socialist Nijar town hall, run by Joaquin Garcia.
The development – set to be undertaken by company Circulo Agroambiental – has been earmarked for 3,000 square metres of virgin land.
The controversial decision comes as two new hotels are now looking increasingly likely to be constructed at El Palmar beach, near Vejer, Cadiz.
Planned just 500m away from the shore, more than 67,000 people have already signed a petition urging the holiday complex not to be built.
However, the project has received the full backing of Vejer town hall, as well as the Junta.
Another absolutely insane decision. In desperate financial times Spain will do anything to earn some money – it would sell its soul for some euros. Nice to see how Spain listens to its people too; 67000 totally ignored.
Fred,
when has the environment ever meant anything to the Spanish. If you can google up some drawings done by one of the Roman mafia (he accompanied the mass murderer Pizarro) of Cuzco as it was as a magnificent Inca city and then take a look today.
My partner saw Granada in 1965, she wept when she saw Granada in 2003 from the heights of Albacin – town planning – que esta?
I well remember hitching a ride from Almeria to Aguadulce in 68 – 4 fishermens’ cottages on a lovely sloping beach. Take a visit there today a hell hole of apartment blocks crammed together all the way up the arroyo – when the big quake hits they will die by the thousands.
Dear Stuart,
First you faded your own nature and now come to Spain to criticize what we do with ours. You ought to know that the 75 percent of the protected species in Europe are represented in Spain. How can you write a lot of offenses like those coming from a country where the more likeness to a bear is a man tshirt off drinking beer in a stadium. We know we are far from perfection in environmental policies, but please, wash your dirty ass before you stare at my stained nails. I Like to see the BBC documentary and can hardly remember one related to England nature. Well, barely I saw one dedicated to a wetland with a few ducks, small robins and a sparrow hawk (I live next to a sparrow hawk nest as I suppose that you what’s that).
What’s more! We’d better not write about history and conquest!
Juan Oya
Juan, the BBC has been showing Natural History programmes for over 30 years, so obviously you have not seen much English television.
Anyway, when did Spain ever have decent TV? It’s a load of old crap designed to keep the Spanish masses under-educated and of course, under control. As for history and conquest, well I’m sure Stuart will be along soon to educate you lol. Spain did a lot for nature by deforesting the whole country for a start…
Fred (My unexpected invited to the party)
In fact I have not seen much English television, approximately the same spanish you’ve seen, and you’re right when you say that it’s not the best (that’s why I prefer to spend my time answering to the curious things that the “expats” write about my country). But don’t you find a bit pathetic your answer to what I wrote above? If I am speaking about nature and you tell me about tv, not deep arguing you have. By the way, spanish forest surface is 45%. UK forest surface don’t stretches 10%.
Anything else?
Juan, if you have not seen much English television you cannot make an authoritative comment about it, and you were the one who initiated the comment about it, so don’t get upset when you are then corrected.
I actually find your attitude pathetic because resorting to comments about beer swilling Englishmen shows the level of intelligence that you operate at.
Regarding (de)forestation, southern Spain is on course to be a desert within a hundred years, indeed as you will know it already has Europe’s only desert a few hundred miles to the east. Even Galicia’s bears are threatened due to deforestation in the North. Comparing forestation levels of individual countries is not massively scientific as one has to factor in so many other things e.g. land mass and climate etc. The “we’ve got more than you’ve got science” is best avoided.
Anyway, I am sure that we can both agree that a country that builds roads and golf hotels on UNESCO biospheres and then boasts about building high speed train lines before creating sewage plants is not even got its basic environmental priorities in order Juan, but at least you’ve already admitted that so there is some hope for you lol.
In response to the above debate/discussion/squabble I’d like to throw my comments in. The BBC has a unit in Bristol entirely dedicated to wildlife. It has produced some wonderful and amazing prgrammes and is currently airing “Springwatch” every evening this week on BBC2 from various locations around the country. The inimitable Sir David Attenborough has made some of the most incredible TV series (most available on DVD!)on all forms of wildlife over many years and from all over the world.
The UK is a very small country compared to Spain. It is also a very green and pleasnat land and I’m fortunate enough to live in an area of outstanding natural beauty. I also think Spain is beautiful at present but it is in severe danger of spoiling many natural wonders. Our last government had little regard for the countryside and there are proposals to build many thousands of houses close to my home on land previouslt designated as protected. It will spoil the area completely and, what is more, protests from local people hve been totally ignored. Could be Spain, couldn’t it?
Fred, closing this rally:
1.- I agree with U about conservative policies, our horrible mass building, golf courses development, deforestation….Maybe you didn’t read among the lines.
2.- My comments about bears were just to balance the level of your speech. Read again what you both wrote before I added.
3.- What I really can not stand is an Englishman critizicing abroad something they never did better. It’s not very polite to vomit freely at the place you have chosen to live in. You must know better than me why. It´d be better mannered to treat recpectfully the country that receives you. It’s just a question of aducation.
4.- Almería desert is not due to the track of men. It is caused by the influence of Sierra Nevada and adds value to this motley and small continent called Spain. Some unique species develop in it. Perhaps we still have so much to learn in this matters but I’m quite sure that you are not the example to follow, so enjoy the landscape.
5.- I admire the few English channels I know and but don’t judge those I don´t know. I suppose somebody told you about the contents of Spanish tv as you can´t speak the language.
6.- Bears, as many other species (we still have them) are seriously threatened by human pressure. In this case by furtive chase. By the way, we have little bears in Galicia. Most of them are located in Picos de Europa among Asturias, Leon, Palencia and Cantabria provinces. I recommend you to visit them. You could not believe the beauty of its mountains. And please, I tell you again, just enjoy the landscape and respect the locals.
Regards
Juan
Juan I am not vomitting over your country, indeed I am one of the people who volunteers my own time in cleaning the local environment where I live (cleaning up after the locals in effect.) The Spanish are terrible at dumping and littering – they need a total rededucation in that department.
I don’t have to understand Spanish TV completely in order to watch it; my Spanish is not completley zero and I get the gyst. It is mostly crap though.
I do hope we can be friends Juan, lol.
told you.
The OP is erasing Stuart’s posts now. They’re getting as bad as The Sur now lol.
Fred,
As we recover the proper speech I can tell you that if somebody asked me what is the first fault I’d change in spanish people, actually it were the ease to litter the countryside and cities. So I celebrate that you help to clean what others (called guarros) soil.
I grew up dreaming to be Felix Rodríguez de la Fuente (who died filming in Alaska and showed the whole world the spanish fauna). Afterwards I knew Sir David Attenborough and the only a can say about him is great, brilliant.
Juan
Once you’ve done with the litter Fred, any chance you could start on the graffiti? Perhaps you could give him a hand Juan?
Litter, graffiti, badly written articles; I clear them all up.
I am absolutely disgusted with the above comments. Remember we are immigrants in this lovely country. It is not perfect but neither is Britain otherwise I guess we would all still live there. I clean up after the Brits dogs everyday.
ED – do you ever consider how many readers are put off posting by the endless anti-Spanish rants of Fred, Stuart et al?
What is anti-Spanish? Juan and myself are largely in agreement on many issues. There is no point in being in denial on certain issues. Stop complaining and get real Yerma.
Cate, what comments are you “disgusted” with? Wild over reaction if you ask me.
I pay my taxes here. I can comment as much as I like Cate! In fact the taxes I used to pay in the UK are still part-funding motorways , rural development, you name it here so I feel I can comment twice over if it suits me!
ED: Much as I would like to throttle the likes of Fred and Stuart sometimes (in fact occasionally i delete their posts if they are using expletives or approaching racist language) they are regular users of this site… and I guess freedom of speech is an important issue here!
But pls guys, remember this is a paper and website aiming to not only criticise spain when it needs criticising, but to also promote and encourage its strengths
Oh dear. Jon, it is a pity that you need to tell a lie in order to get your point across. I have never used an expletive in any post, and I certainly have never made a racist comment, or, approaching one.
The truth of the matter is that my comments are balanced and indeed, have many people in agreement. Please can you now point out my racist posts, and my posts with expletives in them, so I can re-read them?
Many of the stories on this website are critical of Spain, indeed I would estimate there is more negative commentary from the OP than positive. The words kettle and black come to mind.
I have to agree with fred on this one. He does criticise Spain but his posts are often constructive and he makes lot of valid points. in this post he has not been ‘disgusting’ in any way -actually he often reinforces the thrust of the main story, which are often negative anyway e.g. corruptin, mad laws, illegal builds and the like. i certainly dont support bullfighting for one
“…more than 67,000 people have already signed a petition urging the holiday complex not to be built.
However, the project has received the full backing of Vejer town hall, as well as the Junta.”
Isn’t it great living in a democracy where elected politicians take action to represent the will of their constituents… rather themselves. And these boobs wonder why there are demonstrations against the “government”, public riots and other anarchistic acts carried out? This would partially explain why surveys show such low Public trust & regard for Politicians
The old adage is STILL true, “Taxation without public representation is tyranny!”