Roads authority takes Orihuela city hall to court over Cala Mosca permit

SPAIN’S state roads system, Carreteras del Estado, launched legal proceedings to halt the Cala Mosca development.

Valencia’s Upper Court of Justice (TSJCV) has advised Orihuela city hall that Carreteras has challenged planning permission granted on September 2 last year to put up 2,200 new properties on Orihuela Costa’s only remaining unbuilt section of coast.

Environmental implications apart, Carreteras has argued from the outset that the development would result in saturating the nearby N-332 road, already one of the busiest and most hazardous roads in Spain.

In an August 2019 report, Carretaras flagged up deficiencies in city hall’s Traffic Study, which failed to present “correctly and coherently” the N-332’s protection zones

In July last year the Roads authority issued yet another report, subsequently ignored by Orihuela city hall, announcing that its decisions were binding and the development should be halted.

Opposition councillors welcomed the TSJCV’s announcement, prompting the Cambiemos party to point out that Carreteras’ decision to go through the courts supported its claims that last September’s approval was based on irregularities.

Cambiemos called once more for city hall to halt the project, warning during the last plenary session that approving the Cala Mosca development would have “serious consequences” for city hall.