The 62 tourist apartments they want to build on the last green pine forest by the sea in Llançà

LanceLlançà is one of the hottest spots for real estate speculation on the Costa Brava. Much of the area is built on, and of what remains undeveloped, most It is developable land with the possibility of building, as mandated by the municipal urban planning plan (POUM), approved more than twenty years ago. One problematic area where regulations permit buildings is the pine forest on La Farella beach: one and a half hectares of trees, right in front of the sand, surrounded on both sides by villas and residential developments. This is the last green area right on the seafront along the municipal boundary, between Cap Ras, which is a protected area, and Punta d'en Feliu, towards Port de la Selva. In this pine forest, last July, the Llançà City Council approved the Urban Improvement Plan (PMU) granting permission to the private owner of the plot to build 62 apartments for hotel use.

The case has caused a stir among residents and environmentalists who, under the auspices of Iaeden - Salvem l'Empordà and SOS Costa Brava, have been expressing their opposition to the project for months. Throughout this time, they have organized various rallies, presented objections in each of the administrative procedures, and, in recent weeks, have collected up to 5,000 signatures and raised 21,000 euros to file an administrative lawsuit against the council, which has already been admitted for processing.

"The City Council's PMU will allow the creation of five large apartment blocks in a pine forest of great environmental and landscape value, as it is the only green lung in a completely densified urban area," argues Joan Cusí, spokesperson for Yaeden and SOS Costa Brava. He suggests: "If the owners want to sell to raise money, instead of going to developers, we ask that the Generalitat or the City Council buy it so that the land becomes public land and a park can be built facing the beach. That would be magnificent."

The lawsuit, filed with the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), argues that the project cannot go ahead because Llançà's urban planning regulations are "obsolete." "We are faced with a project on the seafront with a major impact, approved by a planning system that has not undergone any environmental assessment because it dates back to 2002," says lawyer Eduard de Ribot. "Nor has there been any study of carrying capacity or water availability for the treatment plant in an area that was created a year ago." The lawyer also states that the Lanzarote POUM (Project for the Development of Urban Development) has not, over the past twenty years, reviewed or adapted the master plan for unsustainable land on the Girona coast.

From 85 to 62 homes, the improvement approved by the City Council

For its part, the City Council insists that it complies with regulations, since this is an action on planned urban land, classified by the current POUM (Regional Urban Development Plan). However, the council notes that, thanks to the modifications approved at the municipal plenary session, it has allowed for the ordering of the volumes and a reduction in the impact of the initial construction proposal, which called for a hotel and twelve buildings with more than one floor. "The buildable area has dropped by 32%, land occupancy has been reduced by 33%, and the number of dwellings has been reduced by 23%, going from 85 to 62 dwellings spread across five single-family buildings with ground and first floors on the north and south sides of the properties," argues Councilor Francesc Guisset.

The governing team also clarifies that the first line of trees in the pine forest will be left intact, thereby reducing the visual impact of the apartments, which are approximately seven meters high and would be hidden behind the fifteen pines. Furthermore, the buildings will be natural-colored and made of stone, with green roofs to reduce visual impact, improve energy efficiency, and promote biodiversity.

On this still-unspoiled forest estate, a chalet with an adjoining house, built last century, sits among the trees, where there is virtually no activity. The heirs of this home will not be the owners of the new apartment complex, but the City Council's building plan does provide for the preservation of these two buildings for their heritage value.

Environmentalists, skeptical

Despite these reconsiderations, environmentalists are not satisfied with the proposal. "We have presented objections to each project and attended every plenary session. Thanks to our pressure, the City Council has minimized the construction, but our goal is to eliminate it completely," says Joan Cusí. Members of SOS Costa Brava and Yaeden are skeptical that, once the cornerstone is laid, the preservation of the section of trees that delimit the plan will be respected. "The project says they will leave a green strip, but we don't believe it, because when they get around to writing the blogs, they'll surely want to put in a pool like in all the tourist complexes," concludes Cusí.