The conflict between the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Valencian Regional Government over the houses on Babilonia beach in Guardamar del Segura is escalating. The central government has sent a formal request to the Consell (regional council) demanding that it repeal the decisions that halted the demolitions ordered by the state, warning that if it does not, it will resort to the courts.
The document, submitted after the deadline granted to residents to carry out the demolitions expired on September 15, constitutes the preliminary step toward filing an administrative appeal. Meanwhile, sources from the Generalitat (Catalan Government) confirm that they will maintain their position and have no intention of backtracking, as they are defending the affected residents. Thus, the case appears destined to be resolved in court, which will likely delay the execution of the ministerial order and, with it, the demolition of homes steeped in history for their owners.
The origin of the dispute lies in two decisions taken by the Generalitat (Catalan government) in early September. On the 5th, the Directorate General of Cultural Heritage issued a precautionary suspension to prevent the loss of potential heritage values in the housing complex. A week later, on September 12th—three days before the demolition deadline—the ministry received approval for the declaration of the site as an “urban centre of special ethnological value,” at the request of the residents. The Ministry of the Environment had approved this agreement in July, based on the Valencian Coastal Law, in force since May.
These decisions effectively halted the demolitions ordered by the Coast Guard, which were based on the lack of a title deed and a final Supreme Court ruling upholding the National Court’s order. The company hired by the residents to carry out the demolitions halted work pending a new ruling, leading to a day of tense calm on the beach.
The Ministry’s request accuses the Generalitat of acting with “institutional disloyalty” by granting only eight calendar days to respond to the agreement, when the Regional Ministry took 53 days to notify it. Furthermore, it denounces an “invasion of powers” and warns that the regional measures could be unconstitutional, as they interfere with the State’s exclusive powers over the maritime and terrestrial public domain.
According to the government, the Constitutional Court has repeatedly recognised that coastal management and the definition of the legal status of said domain are the responsibility of the State, so the regional agreements “empty” these powers and could be “null and void.”
The Ministry also questions the Council’s “good faith” in approving these measures in the midst of negotiations on the constitutionality of the Valencian Coastal Law. One of the articles under discussion is precisely the one that protects the declaration of urban centres of special ethnological value, a provision that the central government considers redundant compared to the protection already provided for assets of cultural interest.
Both administrations agreed in July to create a bilateral commission to address the discrepancies, which could lead to a constitutional appeal if an agreement is not reached by February 26. Despite this, the Generalitat (Catalan Government) has already begun the process of developing the decree that will regulate the declaration of these coastal areas.
The ministry reminds us that the Valencian Cultural Heritage Law cannot be applied to suspend actions by the General State Administration, as its scope is limited to local entities. In fact, the regional ministry addressed its request to the Guardamar City Council and not to the ministry itself, which only learned of the action later.
Author: Derek Appleton
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