The burst housing bubble and recession may not have imparted lessons for Andalusia as permission has been given to complete a mammoth 21-storey hotel.
The half-built structure lies on one of Spain’s last remaining unspoilt Mediterranean beaches in the nature reserve of Cabo de Gata, Almeria.
It has been derelict since 2006 when a court ordered the developers to cease construction work.
After nearly a decade of legal wrangling, Andalusia’s Supreme Court has ruled that the Algarrobico Hotel did indeed have a legal permit for building. The judgement overrides multiple previous rulings which found that it was illegal and ordered its demolition.
This means that construction could now start up again.
The glass and concrete structure of 411 rooms was to be part of a golf complex with 1,500 holiday flats within the volcanic landscape of the reserve.
Environmentalists have argued that the building project flouted the 1994 Natural Resources Plan and was built within the boundaries of a protected nature reserve.
Now the latest Supreme Court ruling found that the hotel had been built on land zoned for construction.
