The controversial urbanization project called Sierrezuela Playa is a plan that proposes the reclassification of 262,463 square meters of land that is currently classified as non-developable land of a natural nature, so it is impossible to build on them.
Are located in an area known as Monte Chico which is located on the right bank of the mouth of the Cachón River in the Cadiz town of Zahara de los Atunes. And apparently the objective behind this land reclassification is to build 107 luxury tourist homes and apartments.
Urbanization: business without caring about the environment
This project intends to build 107 luxury tourist homes or apartments on rustic land classified as NON-BUILDABLE LAND OF NATURAL CHARACTER. To convert them into SECTORIZED URBANIZABLE LAND it is necessary to approve a punctual MODIFICATION INNOVATION (MP) of the PGOU of Barbate, General Urban Planning Plan that was approved in 2009.
For its INITIAL APPROVAL, the aforementioned MP requires a Strategic Environmental Assessment (EAE) managed by the Department of Sustainability and Environment of the Government of Andalusia. This Ministry admitted it for processing on 4/26/2022, but in March 2023 the territorial delegation of this Ministry warned the Barbate City Council of the lack of necessary documentationreminding him that he had 15 months, according to the Integrated Environmental Quality Management Law (GICA), to provide it; If not done before 5/6/2024, the file of the MP of La Sierrezuela would be archived.
The City Council requested an extension, which was granted until 12/20/2024. Said territorial delegation warned in the Scope Document, signed by the territorial delegate, Óscar Curtido (PP), that it is an area with a strong impact on the Public Maritime Terrestrial Domain (DPMT), which has flood-prone areas, which does not justify the supply of water, which does not explain what the sanitation and purification will be like, ensuring that “the intended specific modification could have a high impact on the conservation of biodiversity, Therefore, the promoter is advised not to continue with the processing of the procedure.”
On 12/19/2024, the day before the end of the extension, the mayor of Barbate, Miguel Molina (AxSI), convened an Extraordinary Municipal Plenary Session to initially approve the MP of the PGOU La Sierrezuela, based on a Legal Report that he The same was requested and signed by the legal advisor of the City Council and the acting general secretary; the Urban Planning councilor does not appear, and We suspect that his resignation is due to disagreements with the mayor over this urban project.
In the Extraordinary Plenary Session, no member of the municipal opposition, or even the government team, knew the documentation of the MP nor the technical and legal reports. Likewise, the mayor of Zahara de los Atunes, Agustín Conejo (Gente de Zahara), is unaware of the aforementioned documentation, despite the fact that since March 2023 he issued an official letter unequivocally opposing the MP of La Sierrezuela.
This lack of prior documentation, which is a legal requirement to address an issue in plenary, renders the adopted agreements null and void, so we hope that the opposition will appeal them. For our part, both ENEBRO-Ecologistas en Acción (Conil, Vejer and Barbate), and the Provincial Federation of Ecologists in Action of Cádiz, will be vigilant, we will present allegations and take the pertinent actions so that the INITIAL APPROVAL of La Sierrezuela this insane project is canceled and rejected.
In all this dubious and treacherous processing of the MP, the speculative interests of the owners of this property have prevailed, supported by the mayor of Barbate, Miguel Molina (AxYes), against the interests of the Zahareños and their City Council, which has expressed on numerous occasions that Zahara de los Atunes does not need more luxury tourist apartments, but rather social housing so that its young people can live in its town, which which is now prohibitive.
Zahara de los Atunes has its own name, recognition and prestige as a tourist place, and an identity as a small charming fishing town that should never be lost, and even less due to interests other than its inhabitants, of foreign promoters protected by a mayor who does not listen to them and abandons them.