The harmonious silence that after enveloped La Cabaña, a pure house positioned throughout the metropolis limits of Pozuelo de Alarcón, simply outdoors Madrid, has been lower quick by the sound of heavy equipment and the roar of chainsaws. This space has been slated to turn out to be a luxurious improvement: the Montegancedo undertaking will rework 70 hectares of forest into 1,050 properties, bringing practically 4,000 new residents to an space of city the place fewer than 2,000 stay in the present day. The plans initially contain slicing down a thousand bushes simply to create the roads of this new neighborhood. Practically 300 have already been felled since early June, together with centenary holm oaks with trunks as much as 40 centimeters in diameter. The harm “is irreversible,” says a neighborhood affiliation referred to as Salvemos Montegancedo (Let’s Save Montegancedo).
On Thursday, a number of members of this group have been kicked out of the town council, the place they’d gone to protest the undertaking whereas a plenary session was underway. Pozuelo, which persistently ranks as one of many wealthiest municipalities in Spain — considered one of its most well-known residents was former Actual Madrid participant Cristiano Ronaldo — is ruled by the conservative Well-liked Social gathering (PP) with an absolute majority. A movement filed by the opposition Socialist Social gathering (PSOE) has momentarily halted the development work, however it’s a transitory measure. The builders insist that theirs is a “sustainable” undertaking, whereas metropolis officers underscore that it has obtained all the required favorable experiences.
Luis Segundo Arana Sastre, 66, is likely one of the spokesmen for Salvemos Montegancedo. The brand new improvement undertaking threatens to destroy way more than the pure space the place he normally goes for walks. “To me, it erases my childhood. I used to be born right here and I’ve been in these hills with my father. It destroys all of the reminiscence of what Pozuelo means to me,” he says. In addition to being a lifelong resident, Arana Sastre additionally occurs to have a level in structure, and has taught within the area for 12 years; he was additionally the municipal architect for a similar time frame. He warns of a a lot better environmental affect than what’s already been performed. After creating the roads, extra bushes must be lower down, maybe as many as 5,000, to create space for the buildings.
Montegancedo is a pure oasis for native residents. Each day, they are often seen biking, operating or strolling their canine. Pensioners take their morning walks right here, and on weekends, whole households come to breathe clear air. A examine on the environmental worth of this space by Daniel Fuentes, a health care provider in environmental sciences, counted greater than 100 animal species together with mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds, a few of them of nice significance such because the imperial eagle, the black vulture and the crimson kite, a hen of prey liable to extinction. The examine additionally notes the presence of “quite a few specimens” of holm oaks and stone pines “over 100 years outdated, and a few near 2 hundred years outdated” in addition to rockrose, broom, poppies and wild rose bushes.
The residents of western Pozuelo concern not solely the environmental affect, but in addition the numerous enhance within the variety of residents. The realm most affected by the undertaking is La Cabaña, bordering the Montegancedo property. This space of about 1,500 residents may see its inhabitants triple. Joaquín Plaza, a neighborhood resident and member of the protest group, underscores that “considered one of Pozuelo’s issues is mobility,” one thing that may solely worsen with the brand new arrivals.
Positioned simply 14 kilometers by street (8.6 miles) from the Spanish capital, Pozuelo is a pretty location for many who can afford it. Many neighbors who gave up a life within the metropolis seeking rural tranquility declare themselves distressed to see their plans slip by means of their fingers. One among them is Susana Bennike, a local of Denmark who now lives in Pozuelo. She is a lover of inexperienced areas and will get round by bicycle. “We got here to stay right here in order that our youngsters may stay subsequent to nature, climb bushes and study from the animals”, she mentioned. ‘Have you learnt how a lot we paid to have these silent nights?” In all probability so much, contemplating that Pozuelo is the municipality with the very best common per capita revenue in Spain.
The true property corporations Aedas Houses and Pryconsa are behind the Montegancedo undertaking. Aedas, which acquired its share of the land in 2017, owns 50%, on which it plans to construct 529 properties. Pryconsa has about 20% of the land, which it can use to boost 204 flats. The remaining 30% can be delivered freed from cost to the town to construct “about 300 properties that can be integrated into the Municipal Housing Plan,” as laid out in writing by native authorities, who underscored the personal possession of the land, though it had by no means been fenced or used all these years besides by native residents. EL PAÍS reached Aedas for remark, however was referred again to official statements by Pozuelo officers. It was not potential to succeed in anybody at Pryconsa.
Arana Sastre describes as “perverse advertising and marketing” the promoting technique of the development corporations that promote any such undertaking as sustainable. “We don’t mirror on what it means to stay in nature, which is a really modern snobbery. In the long run you don’t understand that whenever you purchase a home in nature, it means you’ve got beforehand destroyed nature.”
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