PSOE councillors in Carboneras block hotel demolition order again, party suspends them

Plenary vote halted

Five Socialist councillors in Carboneras (Almería) joined two non-attached members on Wednesday to postpone a vote that would have annulled the construction permit for the El Algarrobico hotel, a 20-year-old concrete block built inside the Cabo de Gata Natural Park. The motion to delay, proposed by former mayor and now non-attached councillor Felipe Cayuela, passed with seven votes. The councillors argued the file brought to the plenary session was incomplete, lacking economic, legal, urban planning, and intervention reports that would clarify the potential financial liability for the municipality.

“We want to know, with data and reports, what the annulment of the hotel licence could cost the people of Carboneras.”

The vote blocked a step mandated by a 2021 ruling from the High Court of Justice of Andalusia (TSJA), backed by a favourable opinion from the Consultative Council of Andalusia issued on 22 May. The Council concluded the licence was null and void on two grounds: it authorised construction on protected non-developable land under the 1994 Natural Resources Management Plan, and it breached coastal protection regulations.

Party discipline collapses

Within hours, the provincial leadership of PSOE in Almería opened disciplinary proceedings against all five councillors. By Thursday, the party had escalated the measure to a temporary suspension of membership, executed through federal party bodies. Provincial secretary José María Martín stated that the councillors had ignored directives to vote in line with the party position, which calls for complying with court rulings and moving toward demolition.

“They have not respected the guidelines given by the party's organs.”

The Andalusian PSOE, led by María Jesús Montero, reiterated that demolition will proceed regardless. Party sources said the hotel's demolition is a regional and national priority that "transcends local political decision-making." Montero had pledged in February 2025 to begin immediate expropriation proceedings and predicted demolition within five months, a timeline that has since slipped.

Council's financial fears

The suspended councillors, led by spokesperson and former mayor José Luis Amérigo (nephew of an earlier socialist mayor who governed when the licence was granted), published a video on Thursday morning defending their action. Amérigo insisted the group does not oppose court rulings but needs full documentation to cast an informed vote. The company Azata del Sol, which developed the hotel, has already filed a compensation claim of 70 million euros against the administrations for damages and lost profits.

“We will not yield to blackmail or threats because above everything is the interest of our town, Carboneras.”

The original proposal already contemplated a separate procedure to determine whether the council bears financial liability and to what amount, acknowledging the council currently lacks sufficient means to conduct a deep assessment. The mayor, Salvador Hernández of Ciudadanos, was accused by the PSOE councillors of irresponsibly bringing an incomplete file to the session.

Regional and national responses

Catalina García, acting regional minister for Sustainability and Environment, said on Thursday she expects a rectification from the socialist councillors at the next plenary. García noted that the TSJA has already indicated it could execute the annulment itself if the council fails to comply. The national government, through the Ministry for Ecological Transition, has also warned it would request annulment through the State Attorney's office as a subsidiary measure.

A joint commission between the national government and the Andalusian regional government, established under a 2011 protocol, will meet by videoconference on Tuesday at 11:00 to address the demolition and restoration of the natural site. The regional government, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the body, called the meeting after the council vote derailed the expected timeline.

Two decades of stalemate

The hotel was licensed in January 2003 under a socialist mayor of Carboneras. Courts have repeatedly ruled the licence illegal given the protected status of the land. For years, socialist councillors both in government and opposition have blocked or delayed steps toward annulment, a fact that now sits awkwardly with Montero's public commitment to demolition. The licence annulment is a prerequisite before demolition or expropriation can proceed. The council is expected to reconvene the plenary session, with no firm date yet set.