The Valencia City Council, through the Urban Planning Delegation, announced last Friday, January 10, the beginning of the procedures for the technical review of the urban planning regulations in order to modernize the General Urban Planning Plan (PGOU) of the municipality of València, which was definitively approved in 1988.
Although not many details of the changes were offered, the PP Urban Planning Councilor, Juan Giner, commented in a generic way that among other things “the carrying out of works to improve accessibility, energy efficiency and renewable energies of buildings or the regime for situations where buildings are out of order is simplified, giving greater legal certainty to the owners.”
This last aspect, that of simplifying the regime for situations where buildings are out of order, has been pointed out by Compromís as an open door to the reopening of the Sidi hotel, located in the heart of the Albufera Natural Park. Regarding this complaint, Giner denied this Friday alleged benefits from the modification of the PGOU and stated that “the only thing that is done with respect to the out-of-planning regime is to adapt the rules of the General Plan to the current Valencian urban planning legislation.”
An urban planning law, which, however, is also in the review phase by the Valencian Government of Carlos Mazón and which, in relation to hotels on the coast, was already modified last December with the possibility of building them at 200 meters of coastline, when until now it was only possible at 500 meters and for very specific typologies in terms of dimensions.
In addition, a Valencian coastal law and a review of the Territorial Planning, Urban Planning and Landscape Law (LOTUP) are being processed, which among other things, “measures to encourage the implementation of tertiary and recreational leisure activities on land not developable” and “review the regularization processes of illegal constructions.” Precisely, after hearing the latest ruling that endorsed the expiration of the Sidi license, Catalá stated that he had met with the Minister of Environment and Territory, Vicente Martínez Mus, to address possible solutions that would allow its reopening and avoid demolition, in contrary to what the reports of municipal technicians recommend.
Compromís denounces that Catalá fails to protect the Albufera
In this context, the spokesperson for Compromís per València Papi Robles, together with councilor Sergi Campillo, have denounced what they consider an “urban planning maneuver” by Catalá that unprotects the Devesa-Albufera, “a natural heritage that belongs to everyone, and not from any private company or private interests.” And, as Robles explained, the municipal government of the PP and Vox has presented a modification of the urban planning regulations of the General Urban Planning Plan (PGOU) to give legal coverage to the reopening of the Sidi Saler hotel in this protected space. “It is the first time in democracy that a regressive change has been promoted for the defense of the Devesa-Albufera. If this goes ahead, Catalá will be the first mayor who will unprotect this natural space,” he denounced.
In this sense, Compromís councilor Sergi Campillo recalled that the Sidi Saler hotel complex, owned by Divarian Propiedad SA and Coral Homes, ended its activity in 2011, after more than 35 years open and has highlighted the neighborhood and environmental struggle ‘El Saler pel al Poble’ platform that fortunately managed to stop this destruction. Campillo has assured that ”today the Devesa is an example of environmental restoration at an international level. Among other things, for the municipal protection promoted by the first democratic city council and which was later confirmed with the General Plan of 1991, where this building was left out of planning.”
The Valencian councilor highlighted that “in 2022, with the Government of Joan Ribó and based on the technical reports, the activity license was declared expired for not complying with the regulations, while the hotel had been in business for more than two years without activity, and with a clear desire to continue recovering the Saler and the Devesa-Albufera for the people, a decision that was ratified by justice, despite the opposition of Catalá who would have wanted a ruling favorable to the reopening and in against municipal interests.”
However, Compromís has denounced that this protection’s days are numbered with the modification of urban planning regulations announced by the PP and Vox Government. A change that, as Compromís points out, involves eliminating the reference to the protection of natural spaces and, therefore, the Sidi Saler would no longer be considered “outside of substantive planning” and construction would be allowed there again. In addition, they change the definition of “conservation works”, which the current regulations contemplate for buildings outside of substantive planning, and with the modifications this concept is expanded, allowing the hotel complex to be rebuilt.
“With this regulatory change, once approved, if we do not prevent it, the holders of the hotel concession will be able to request the activities license again and the City Council will have to grant it,” said councilor Sergi Campillo. In short, “it is a regulatory change to make urban planning a la carte exclusively to benefit the private interests of companies that want to profit from a space that should be for everyone. “It is a historical setback.”
Compromís per València spokesperson Papi Robles has accused Catalá of wanting to reopen “a luxury hotel for rich tourists. After touristizing the city, he now wants to touristify the Devesa-Albufera, with disastrous consequences for the conservation of the space.” In this sense, he has described as “hypocritical” the PP mayor’s trip to Brussels to request that the Albufera be declared a Biosphere Reserve.
Robles has considered that “Catalá uses this title to hide its true intentions: to unprotect the Albufera to favor private economic interests.” In this sense, the Valencian spokesperson has advanced that “from Compromís we will make our voice and that of the Valencians heard wherever necessary to not allow this barbarity. We will not let them destroy what is ours and what we love. “La Devesa-Albufera is not touched.”
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