The National Court closes the door to private exploitation of the Son Bou beach parking lot.

CitadelThe First Section of the Contentious Division of the National Court has dismissed the appeal of the developer Edivissa seeking recognition of its right to obtain a Coastal Concession to operate the 9,215 square meter plot that has been used as a parking lot for decades within and above the public domain (Alaior), in the south of Menorca.

The judges reject Edivissa's claim to recover the uses and benefits it had recognized before the current Coastal Law came into force in 1988, when it did charge vehicles for parking, and uphold the decision taken 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 City Council, is essential for the Court, which concludes that "an unlicensed activity does not consolidate the right to continue it when it is perpetuated over time. The fact that the uses have been tolerated all these years does not imply."

With this argument, the Court invalidates Edivissa's argument, which alleged that the plot has been used as a beach parking lot since 1973 and that the Coastal Law allows the maintenance of uses existing prior to the 1988 delimitation even if they are not legalized. The developer understands that "there was tacit authorization, since the operation of the parking lot was known and even promoted by the Alaior City Council, which has carried out work to condition the esplanade." He even recalls that the Ministry of the Environment has endorsed the public interest of the parking lot, which Edivissa believes is "compatible" with the environmental values of the protected area in which it is located.

In fact, the parking lot is located right on the beach, encroaching on the dune area and in an area affected by numerous environmental protection regulations, a legal limbo that all administrations have allowed for decades in order to cope with the large influx of users at the beach, one of the largest in Menorca.

The property owner considered closing the parking lot in recent years as a pressure measure, but finally agreed to allow public use so as not to harm the development. However, the City Council must certify the public interest of the parking lot every summer. The parking lot, the largest in Son Bou, can become so saturated during the high season that it concentrates nearly a thousand cars every day.

Coastal Law

The ruling does grant Edivissa the option of requesting permission for a new use, since, having established private ownership of the land prior to the entry into force 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 by the developer. In parallel, Edivissa has initiated the process to ask the Coastal Law to allow it to operate the parking lot in exchange for payment of a fee.