Eloise HorsfieldTHE Junta is finally cracking down on housing schemes linked to golf courses.
Andalucia has rejected plans to build nine new courses insisting the projects do not meet environmental and town planning demands.
New regulations, brought in in February 2008, state that golf projects must be in the interests of tourism and cannot be used as a way to get round planning regulations.
However this latest batch of proposed schemes – six of which are inland with the other three on the coast – all have housing included.
According to Rafael Rodriguez, the Minister for Tourism, the decree ensures such schemes must have a ‘clear touristic purpose’.
They cannot be used ‘to build predominately residential projects and circumvent the planning regulations’.
Since the new measures were introduced only one project (El Seguesal in Barbate) has actually qualified as a ‘tourist attraction’.
Meanwhile a further two in Cadiz province – one in Jimena and the other in Castellar – are still pending approval.
The rejected courses include Finca Corvite in Almogia, Las Lomas in Casarabonela and Las Lomas del Duque in Lucena. Other courses turned down were Castillo de Tajarja, Hoya Altica in Almeria, Las Palmares in Granada, and La Joyita in Barbate.
How many jobs would have been created ? How many millions pumped into local economies ? How many businesses would have been kept going ?
Absolute madness! WHY??? Doe’s The Junta want these small villages to die?
The answer in no jobs. There are too many golf courses, they are over priced and they do not have enough clients to sustain the clubs. You will have no difficulty booking tee times on existing courses-they are desperate for business. The Junta is right to avoid adding to this problem
These small inland towns and villages are dying because of lack of investment. They need something to attract more people and income. Sure they could be operated a lot cheaper than the costal courses.
Wise financial decision – at last! Town Planners should/must attend a Golf Industry Convention and hear how the lack of increasing Golfers and the increase in maintenance costs are driving PRESENT golf courses to raise Green Fees, etc or go bust. In the Marbella area, we are MORE than saturated with 27 courses, that are losing money. The “new generation” are NOT going into golf – they cannot AFFORD it as a pastime. Hard to even pay the mortgage! The past “schemes” were just to get planning OK, build Apts/Villas “Front Line Golf” to make money for the developers, not gold operators.
John Balfour-have you any idea how many millions it costs to establish a golf course, and then how much it costs to maintain? There is no prospect of an inland course making money in this environment
The next Big Thing? Frontline Table Tennis apartments constructed around a table, much cheaper than golf courses!
Baviera Golf were supposed to be converting part of their land to a international (English) college. Now that is sensible, but alas with incompetant council support it’ll unlikely ever see the light of day. Hope I’m wrong.
Hi John, Re: Does Junta want small inland towns to go bust? I and others, are not sure of Junta’s “intent”. But regardless of the Junta’s “Fantastic Successful Business Experience”, each Towns’ project NEEDS to be analyzed from both a financial and marketing view…otherwise, it WILL fail. Politicians, with little succesful business experience are …. lethal