PROPERTY SEARCH

Date Published: 26/05/2023

More than 100 scientists sign petition against construction of 488 new villas in Lliber

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The planned property development in the Alicante town is said to be unsustainable and unfeasible

More than 100 scientists sign petition against construction of 488 new villas in Lliber

Over 100 scientific experts from Spain, the UK, the USA and other countries have come together to sign a petition protesting against a new real estate urban development project in the town of Llíber, in the province of Alicante, on the grounds that it is unsustainable.

The new build project slates 488 single-family villas for construction in Llíber, each with their own swimming pools.

The manifesto signed by the scientists provides 16 specific arguments against this urban development, and has the public backing of professors, lecturers and scientific experts in Geography, Ecology, Biology, Economics, Tourism, Sociology, Anthropology and Political Science.

The signatories are important experts of recognised prestige from the University of Alicante, the Universität Leipzig (Germany), the University of Surrey (UK), the University of Brighton (UK) and the University of Southern California (USA) as well as many others.

All of them are calling for a total and definitive halt to the ‘PAI Medina’ project on the part of the administrations involved and by the developer, VAPF.

The population of Llíber is just 967, around half of whom are foreign citizens, mainly of British and German descent. The town already has hundreds of homes that have been deprived of proper building licences for decades, creating a desperate situation for the current residents, who have had to fight for years to get their properties officially recognised.

The PAI Medina project dates back to 2001, when Spain was going through something of a real estate bubble. Since then the property market and our understanding of the need to protect natural landscapes in the face of climate change have developed to such a point that the project constitutes “an attack on the territory and the environment in an enclave that has already been subjected to uncontrolled urban pressure”.

Among the reasons why the signatories oppose the project, they also state that it will mean “an unsustainable increase in the population” of Llíber, as it will provoke a growth of 1,000 inhabitants – doubling the town’s population instantly.

They also point out that it is located outside the town centre in a protected area of the Valencian Community and is in fact a forested area of high natural and scenic value.

In addition, the scientists stress that the water resources available in the area are insufficient to supply all those homes and their swimming pools; that there is not enough road infrastructure to carry it out; and that the area has very limited resources in regard to health centres.

Image: Archive

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