A NEW battle of Trafalgar is brewing between the aristocratic owner of an exclusive polo club and locals who insist his property is illegally syphoning water.
Secret pipes, blocked footpaths and a polo playground built on protected virgin land: locals say a powerful establishment figure is stealing water and silencing opposition on Spain’s unspoilt Atlantic coast.
On one side a wealthy establishment figure, Gonzalo Melgarejo Martínez de Abellanosa, and on the other, neighbours who claim he is ‘stealing’ millions of litres of water to irrigate his polo fields in Cadiz.
But, while they appear to have the law on their side – with green groups, police, regional authorities and even the Ombudsman apparently joining them – a series of new, perhaps more alarming, incidents are now being weighed up by judges.
Aside from a blocked public footpath, there is the claim that Melgarejo drove his car at a group of horseriders, forcing them – and a local cyclist – to scatter.
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In shocking video footage seen by The Olive Press, the tour group – including two German expats and a father and daughter from Murcia – were forced to divert as his Mini Cooper drove directly at them at speed.
In the same 2024 incident, a €1,200 electric bike was flattened under his car.
“It was really scary and everyone was terrified for their lives,” said one expat neighbour in El Palmar, on the Costa de la Luz. “We all went to court to give evidence.”
While Barbate’s Court No1 is still weighing up testimonies made last year, neighbours insist it is just one of several disputes linked to the Trafalgar Polo Club.
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Green group AGADEN claims the club is committing ‘many’ environmental violations, including ‘unauthorised’ construction and ‘illegal’ water use.
And the group claims both the nearby Vejer Town Hall and regional authorities are largely inactive, and failing to properly enforce Spain’s strict environmental laws.
The club – which sits by Cape Trafalgar, where the epic naval battle between the British and Spanish took place in 1805 – is certainly pristine, complete with manicured lawns and stunning boutique accommodation.
On its website, it boasts an experience ‘in harmony with nature’ from just €125 a night
Yet, this is precisely the problem: Mangueta beach is almost entirely virgin, with almost no development, which is strictly prohibited.
Despite this, the club continues to operate, even after the authorities allegedly ordered it to cease activity.
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“Gonzalo certainly made a name for himself watering his polo fields, when residents in El Palmar ran dry in the drought,” explains a close acquaintance.
“It came after he put rocks and bricks over a public track that has been used by people here for 50 years. But that is typical of Gonzalo. He thinks he’s above the law, and simply uses money to pay for an army of lawyers to keep him out of the courts and pay fines.”
The battle began in 2017 when ecologists started to monitor the construction and ‘illegal’ extraction of groundwater.
According to AGADEN, reservoirs were dug, and underground water was tapped at a time when the area was already suffering from severe water scarcity.
It also failed to manage wastewater as well as ‘buried hazardous waste, including asbestos’.
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Tensions escalated in May 2020 when Junta inspectors attempted to visit following complaints. However, they were expelled from the club with a warning of legal action if they returned.
When the Junta later imposed a fine of €51,409 for damage to water resources, Melgarejo appealed it, lost but allegedly avoided paying it as the ‘fine prescribed’.
Alarmingly, neighbours claim the irrigation systems and wells are still operational today.
When the Olive Press asked local police in Vejer if they were inspecting the club’s alleged use of water, they told us it was ‘private’ property and they ‘could not get in to check’.
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Frustrated by years of stalled proceedings, AGADEN has now taken the case to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Cádiz, while the neighbours have brought in Madrid’s Ombudsman.
When we asked Vejer Town Hall if the club had been issued with ‘a stop order’ due to planning irregularities, the councillor in charge of urbanismo, Domenika Paradiso, said: “These are very specific details and require us to consult the files. I can’t reply immediately.” Exactly one week later we are still waiting.
A former mayor, Pepe Jose Ortiz, in charge until 2019, added: “As the matter is in the courts I’ve been advised not to comment.”
Finally when contacted, club owner Melgarejo admitted to the Olive Press there was a court case due over the horse incident, but described it ‘as nothing’ and claimed the neighbours in question are ‘crazy’ and ‘telling lies’.
When questioned further about the water issue and claims of illegal use, as well as the public footpath being blocked, he responded: “No, no, sorry, I’m not going to tell you anything about that, everything is in the court.”
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