The eagles halt the Ametller Agropark: a judge halts the work until their transfer is confirmed.

BarcelonaBarcelona's Administrative Court No. 3 has ordered a partial halt to construction work on the Agroparc project planned by the Catalan food and supermarket chain Ametller Origen in Gelida and Sant Llorenç d'Hortons (Alt Penedès). According to ACN, the judge's ruling indicates that the bulk of the work cannot begin until it is confirmed that the two bald eagles in the affected area can be relocated to a new habitat specifically designed as compensation.

The judge points out that these are endangered species, so it is necessary to preserve these birds "given the risk that urban development projects will irreversibly compromise their survival." The precautionary measure was a request from the Gelida Naturalists Association.

Asked by ARA, Ametller Origen declined to comment on the ruling. The company plans to invest €180 million over five years in the project, which in its current version was introduced in 2021. Previously, in 2016, Ametller had already made public a preliminary draft of the Agroparc, which was halted by environmental organizations.

The judge specifically points out that the construction of this food production and distribution center—planned for an area of 258 hectares—involves the movement of 724,482 cubic meters of earth located in the area of greatest sensitivity to eagles. At the same time, he points out that the construction of the Agroparc conflicts with the public environmental interest, the public interest in sustainable territorial development, and the private interests of the developers, but he rules in favor of the public interest "because there is a risk of irreversible damage."

The ruling states that the start of the works must be partially halted to protect a species that is in danger of extinction, but also points out that there are contradictory technical reports on how and when the compensatory measures for the destroyed habitat will be applied, "which generates a situation of uncertainty that advises exercising caution." The judge specifies that the halt in the works is not global regarding the entire project because he recalls that the Generalitat (Catalan Government) has assured that there are some actions related to the urbanization of the Can Joncoses sector that can be carried out without affecting the survival of the eagles.

He insists that the halted part is conditional on accreditation through a certificate from the Fauna and Flora Service of "the effective implementation and positive validation of the compensatory measures." "The measure is proportionate and balanced, as it safeguards environmental interests without unnecessarily paralyzing the entire project," the ruling concludes.

Satisfaction among environmentalists

The Stop Agroparc platform, of which Naturalistas de Gelida is a member along with 166 other entities, considers the court ruling as "a fundamental step" to protect the eagles, "emblematic and vulnerable in the territory." "Unsustainable impact on water, the landscape, ecological connectivity, and mobility and road infrastructure, among others," maintains the platform, which emphasizes that "projects must adapt to the territory, and not the other way around."

The naturalist association presented a supermarket, arguing that the project would affect Bonelli's eagle, but also due to the actions of the Gelida City Council and the Department of Territory of the Generalitat Naturalezas de Gelida challenged the specific modification of the municipality's urban plan and accused the Government of acting with "manifest abuse of power."