Eloise HorsfieldIT has taken 14 years of lobbying and protests.
Now, finally, a German entrepreneur has been allowed to restore one of Ronda’s key buildings.
Jochen Knie has begun the much-needed 2.5m euro facelift of the crumbling Casa del Rey Moro – one of the town’s most spectacular buildings.
The German had been planning to turn the 18th-century palace into a five-star hotel, but it may now serve as an events and conference space.
The work will take place in two phases, the first to protect the exterior, with a second internal phase set to begin after Christmas.
As reported in the Olive Press, Knie has been forced to undertake a long and costly battle with the town hall to allow the project.
Last year, he was so desperate he undertook a rooftop protest with banners, until he was arrested.
The building – along with its garden and 14th-century mine – which leads right to the bottom of the Tajo gorge and was Ronda’s only water source during Moorish times – is one of the most popular tourist sites in the area.
Doesn’t surprise me, Spanish councils are the same as UK ones when it comes to restoring historic buildings, officials see their role as obstructer’s rather than facilitators. They should go down on their hands and knees and say thank you to someone who is prepared to put his own money into preserving a historic building, money that the council certainly doesn’t have.
…… goes to show, first forget your principals, then you gotta know who to grease and how much to grease.
Surely Herr Knie could have save himselfs 13 years of BS