Ecologist victory at Ses Covetes

A recent ruling from the Supreme Court has established a 100-metre protection zone at Ses Covetes beach in the municipality of Campos, where the planned construction of 67 apartments ground to a halt in 1995. According to the ecological watchdog in the Balearics, GOB, this decree ratifies “undisputedly” the environmental protection of Ses Covetes and scorned the attempt of a specific owner to annul a 1996 Ministerial Order which marked out the public domain and the protective stretch of land. Ecologists pointed out that the Tribunal ruling confirms their arguments about the illegality of the construction of the 67 apartments near Es Trenc beach. GOB highlighted the fact that in conjunction with the Majorcan Socialist party, they had launched a campaign 10 years ago to put a halt to the works and annul the licenses of the apartments. The conservationists signalled that from the moment that the Tribunal decreed the suspension of the building work one year on from the campaign, a “legal battle” began to rage between the Town Council and the promotor Marian Ernst, on one side and GOB and the Majorcan Socialists on the other. This legal battle focusses its argument on three points, the municipal license for the building of the apartments; Campos' local by-laws and the fact that the grounds in question were officially categorised as urban (as opposed to rural); and the demarcation of a 100 metre protective border enshrined in Coastal department law. GOB explained that when the Coastal Laws of 1989 came into force, “the lands in question were not categorised as urban”, meaning that the by-laws of Campos were not able to provide authorisation for the construction of the apartments.