“The building that is the subject of this report, due to its location, its excess volume and its obvious environmental impact, deserves to be classified, in accordance with the urban planning regulations of the PGOU of Valencia, as being outside of substantial planning.”
One of the reports from the Municipal Legal Department of Urban Planning of the Valencia City Council states in these terms the impossibility of granting a work and activity license to the Sidi Saler Hotel for its renovation and reopening because it is located in the heart of the Albufera Natural Park. As reported by this newspaper, another letter from the Devesa department warns, among other things, that “the reopening of the hotel would represent a regression in the protection of the natural park that would have a lasting effect.”
Despite the fact that the municipal technicians expressed themselves in these terms in a conflict that was also brought to court, the mayor of Valencia of the PP, María José Catalá, insisted this Monday on the reopening of the establishment.
Catalá, however, still does not specify how the hotel activity can be made compatible with the Albufera Natural Park and, when asked about the formula to resolve the irregular situation of the property with the technicians, she limited herself to answering: “Well, solve it with the “Technically, there are always ways.”
Catalá said he hopes to work “hand in hand” with the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) on the future of the old Sidi Saler hotel, “thinking about what is best for the natural environment” in which it is located. and “what the neighbors want” in this area. The first councilor recalled that “if this building can be something, thanks to the permit it has, it is a hotel.”
“A sustainable hotel is one that takes care of the environment in which it is located,” said María José Catalá, who stressed that “we must not forget that it is located in one of the most special areas of the city of Valencia.” with “a high level of landscape protection.”
The first mayor added that it was an idea that the previous progressive municipal government had “rejected”, after which she assured that “nobody likes demolition”. “Nobody is asking for the demolition of this hotel. Nobody is asking for it, especially the neighbors, because they know that a demolition would be very harmful to the environment and to the region,” he said.
The administrative situation of the property is judicial after the former executive of Compromís and PSPV denied the building and activity permits, because the building was not subject to substantial planning, a decision that was appealed at the time by the property, the investment fund Divarian Propiedad SA. and Coral Homes SL. The companies claim that the building is not subject to deferred planning, a qualification that would allow them to carry out renovation interventions on the building.
