SSUENN 1555 //20 23 29 APRIL2016 2015 - 26-October IISSUE OO . .1633
COSTA DE ALMERÍA
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
Alarm over coastal plans for new hotel By Matthew Elliott Residents of coastal Almeria may have to prepare themselves for another lengthy legal battle as planning permission is sought for a new hotel on one of the province’s most picturesque beaches. The proposed project would see a new four star hotel with 33 rooms straddling thousands of square metres facing the bay of Playa de los Genoveses, one of the Gabo de Gata-Nijar natural park’s more stunning settings. It looks to be a done deal. A precise budget of just over €2 million has been set and the only real hurdle is the council confirming that construction plans are compatible with the local geology. But, as any long-term Almeria resident will tell you, hotels and beaches have a fairly chequered history in the province, especially when protected natural parks like the Gabo de Gata are involved. It took more than a decade of legal wrangling, terrible press and eco-warrior protests for the Supreme Court to fi-
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Illegal street racing RESIDENTS of Almeria City’s La Goleta area are up in arms at the amount of cars flocking to the parking areas around the Mediterranean Games stadium for illegal races at night, especially at the weekends. The local residents’ association has published videos on its blog and complained to the authorities. See page 2
Monkey business INVESTIGATIONS by the Guardia Civil’s Seprona nature protection unit led to the recovery of 25 primates. Seven people – four in Alicante, two in Murcia and one
in Sevilla – face charges for breaching wildlife protection laws by breeding and selling exotic and protected species.
See page 8
Going down A WOMAN and daughter found guilty of attacking a Carboneras bar owner after she sacked the younger woman have had their appeal rejected by Almeria Provincial Court. The daughter was ordered by Vera court to pay a €420 fine and €180 in damages to the bar-owner’s brother for injuring him. See page 16
Ballsy decision nally order the demolition of the abominable El Algarrobico hotel in Carboneras. Dubbed one of the world’s ugliest eyesores by The Telegraph and targeted by a ferocious Greenpeace campaign, the affair dragged on far longer than needed and brought nothing but negative coverage to the region. It would be quite something if Torres and Gonzalez-Diaz SL, who are behind the new project, managed to repeat the El Algarrobico disaster but lo-
cal activist groups are concerned that they may nevertheless set a disturbing precedent. Friends of the Natural Park of Cabo de Gata worry that by allowing a major hotel to be
built within the pristine territory the council will be opening up the floodgates for more building, more tourism, more hotels and the park’s inevitable degeneration into just another Spanish coastal resort.
ALBOX has once again hit the national press, this time over confiscated footballs. Although a by-law has been in place for some time and signs forbidding ball games for
safety reasons, in the past these were not strictly enforced. Now, former PE teacher and current mayor of Francisco Torrecillas has set the cat among the pigeons. See page 54