The Guardia Civil has started legal action against the two operators of the Guardamar Park mobile home park, which is on undeveloped territory in Guardamar del Segura that is prone to flooding. There have been serious violations of planning, the environment, and safety. The complex must close, according to the Guardamar City Council, but the process is still going on.
The Guardia Civil has charged 20 people, including the landowners, managers, landlords, and owners of the mobile homes, with crimes after an anonymous tip of a polluting spill led to an investigation last year.
They are all accused of breaking the law about land use and urban planning. Two of them, the campsite managers, are also accused of breaking the law about natural resources and the environment since they helped dump pollutants.
Sewage
The investigation started after an anonymous tip said that untreated wastewater was seeping into a ditch that was used to drain extra irrigation water, which is also called a “azarbe.” Investigations showed that the discharge came from a group of mobile homes that were part of a residential development.
An expert analysis indicated that the water that was released was polluted and might have a big impact on the natural system, putting the area’s crops at risk.
Because of how bad the occurrences were, the Alicante Guardia Civil’s Nature Protection Service (Seprona) started Operation Castramar and checked out this mobile home campsite. Officers found about 60 mobile homes on ground that hadn’t been developed yet and could be at risk of flooding. They didn’t have a planning permission.
The Supreme Court has ruled that mobile homes need a planning permission since they are more like prefabricated houses than trailers.
The complex has three paved roadways and a welcome office, a bar-restaurant, sinks, showers, toilets, swimming pools, and sports facilities. It also has mobile home-style apartments, many of which have extra features like porches, terraces, and garages.
All buildings were connected to essential services (water, electricity, and sewage systems), functioning in practice as a residential nucleus, where the permanent residence of about 60 persons registered at the same address was certified.
According to the Guardia Civil, the manager of the facility has allegedly used a number of techniques to keep it open for many years, such as starting new businesses or buying land next door to expand the facilities and make more money.
It was also discovered that an English business ran a website where the homes were being sold, which helped them get new consumers all the time.
The Guardia Civil has been looking into the landowners, managers, landlords, and mobile home owners since last year. There were 20 people, all between the ages of 35 and 88. They are all being charged with crimes against land use and urban planning. Two of them are also being charged with crimes against natural resources and the environment for their role in dumping pollutants.
The authorities in charge have also been told of major violations of urban planning, the environment, and safety that were found throughout the investigation.
The Alicante Provincial Prosecutor’s Office’s Environmental Section has received the probe, and the Torrevieja Court of Instruction No. 2 is still looking into the case.
The City Council has also ordered the activities to stop, although that order has not yet been carried out. We also told the Valencian Land Protection Agency, which is in charge of making sure that planning is legitimate and restoring the altered physical reality on undeveloped land, in accordance with existing law.
Author: Derek Appleton
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