Iona Napier
CAMPAIGN group Ecologists in Action-Silvema is to lodge an official complaint against Ronda’s town hall for driving plans forward for a luxury hotel complex at Casa Rua.
Conservationists are comparing the scenario to that of well-known Villa Padierna in Benahavis, famously chosen by Michelle Obama for the family’s Spanish holidays .
The new plan has sprung up due to an agreement between the municipality and the project developers, that was given the go-ahead from the Supreme Court to build.
An agreement followed stating that the government would reduce the number of houses proposed by 200 in exchange for increasing the volume of the hotel.
Ecologists believe this agreement to be a complete ‘abuse of power’ as well as ‘not conforming to Ronda’s tourism policies.’
Ronda’s mayor, Maria de la Paz Fernandez, has kept quiet in response to this recent development.
She has repeatedly stated that the municipality does not have enough money to compensate the developers and that all possible negotiations were made to reduce the size of the complex.
Meanwhile, the developers continue to defend the impact of the complex, claiming it will consist of a hotel with 18 separate houses and five acres of parkland.
