The National Court closes the door to the private operation of the Son Bou beach parking lot
It concludes that, however much the Edivissa land has been used as a parking lot for more than half a century, it cannot have the right to the concession as it is in the public maritime-terrestrial domain.
CitadelThe First Section of the Administrative Chamber of the National Court has dismissed the appeal filed by the developer Edivissa seeking recognition of its right to obtain a coastal concession to operate the 9,215-square-meter plot of land that has been used for decades as a parking lot within the public domain and on the Alaior coast in southern Menorca. The judges rejected Edivissa's claim to recover the uses and rights it held before the current Coastal Law came into effect in 1988, when it did charge vehicles for parking, and upheld the decision made in February 2022 by the Ministry of the Environment. The fact that the parking lot was not authorized before the coastal delimitation, as proven by the Alaior Town Council, is essential for the Court, which concludes that "an unlicensed activity does not establish the right to continue it when it persists over time. The fact that the uses have been tolerated all these years does not imply a license." With this argument, the Court invalidates Edivissa's argument, which claimed that the plot has been used as a beach parking lot since 1973 and that the Coastal Law allows for the maintenance of uses existing prior to the 1988 delimitation, even if they are not legal. The developer maintains that "there was tacit authorization, since the operation of the parking lot was known and even promoted by the Alaior Town Council, which has carried out improvements to the esplanade." It even recalls that the Ministry of the Environment has endorsed the public interest of the parking facility, which Edivissa believes is "compatible" with the environmental values of the protected area in which it is located.
In fact, the parking lot extends seamlessly onto the beach, encroaching on the dune area and within a space protected by numerous environmental designations—a legal limbo that all levels of government have allowed for decades to accommodate the large influx of visitors to the beach, one of the largest in Menorca. The owners considered closing the parking lot in recent years as a pressure tactic, but ultimately agreed to allow public use to avoid negatively impacting the development. However, the City Council must demonstrate the public interest in the parking lot each summer. The parking lot, the largest in Son Bou, becomes so full during peak season that it holds nearly a thousand cars daily. Coastal Law
The ruling does recognize Edivissa's right to request permission for a new use, since, having proven private ownership of the land prior to the enactment of the Coastal Law, it has a preferential right to the land for a period of 60 years. In any case, the ruling is not final and has already been appealed to the Supreme Court by the developer. In parallel, Edivissa has begun the process of requesting permission from the Coastal Authority to operate the parking facility in exchange for a fee.