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The Spanish style that took Spain s and the America by storm - and then died out
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ancient rock forwith the region’sof the oldest in the – some g’ lookout mations Peninsula. new geo- New ‘floatin Iberian blends into its SPECTACULAR has been featuin wildest corner The minimalist structure with no flashy logical viewpoint the Canta- opens wild surrounds,mountain majesty and unveiled high in offering Asturias res – just pure raw geology. brian Mountains, of one of of appears to float 360 degrees of panoramas valley, the lookout jaw-dropping giving visitors valleys. in the above the landscape, Spain’s most dramatic La Farrapona sleek an up-close ennear Perched Valley, the rugged Salienciaplatform was de- c o u n t e r steel-and-w ood & Sanchez ArquiPuerto by signed a public detectos after winning run by Somiedo sign competition its Sustainable under Hall Town Tourism Plan. point of the Set at the highest
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KET ON FIRE LUXURY MAR
inthe top 10%. fuelled by strong The surge is being – particularly from ternational interest– combined with donorthern Europelow interest rates and demand, is By Walter Finch Zamo- mestic economic recovery. property market ongoing with tighter budgets, fall, dropping 9%, SPAIN’S high-endof cooling, with luxentry point to luxSpain’s For buyers Soria saw prices Sanshowing no signsjumping an average of Mallorca remains luxury ra offers the cheapest– followed by Palen- Only Ceuta remained flat. Toledo, each while where with Palma de tury. €240,000 and Pamplona ury home prices year. exclusive market, , near Madrid, follows – the ury – just ta Cruz de Tenerife and Huelva (€293,250). at Guadalajara while Madrid itself has most now start at €2.1 million 15% over the past thresh- cia (€290,000)level, the Baleares top the posted modest 4% gains. at jump, the study looking the homes looked million €2 the pushing Idealista provincial €2.95 According to over €860,000 – the a 35% cross At at climb 28% The study by portal provincial capi10% only city to luxury homes starting in seen prices homes costing threshold (the top hikes have been growth list with followed by Malaga province data from all of Spain’s May 2024 and capital’s luxury price) to €1.85 million. old. most dramatic price showed more modest places. from €1.29 million, and Madrid (€1.56m). where tals and regions between 26%, Barcelona of properties by some unexpected meanwhile is up up by at 8%, with luxury defined en- (€2.2m) Real ranks lowest, leads the charge, in May 2025. Malaga has officially are both Oviedo, in Asturias, by an astonishing San Sebastian with prices Ciudad gets you a top-tier home in million, while Lugo and Las Palmas with prices rocketing €225,000 million-euro club, healthy demand 22% confirming Spain and the Canar- tered theat €1.045 million. 43% in just 12 months. starting historic city’s football both the north of It comes as the back to La Liga ies. a centeam just got promoted in a quarter of for the first time
goes loco property market y Spain’s luxury across the countr as prices soar
The style that took Baroque to the extreme and then on to the Americas in our Property Magazine inside
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Blistering SPAIN has broken its all‑time June heat record, with temperatures hitting a blistering 46°C in El Granado, Huelva, near the Portuguese border. The milestone, recorded on Sunday, is still awaiting official confirmation from national weather agency AEMET. It comes as a fierce heatwave grips southern Europe, placing Portugal on red alert and pushing France and Italy into the low 40s. Portugal’s meteorological institute has urged locals and tourists – including thousands of Brits on the Algarve – to stay indoors as the mercury rises. Lisbon hit 42°C, while Badajoz, just over the border in Spain, reached 44°C.
Brunt
Inland southern Spain is bearing the brunt, with unofficial readings smashing the previous June record of 39.7°C. On the Costa del Sol, temperatures peaked at 38°C, raising wildfire fears and pressure on cooling systems. Experts say official figures due this week could confirm it as Spain’s hottest June ever. Paris reached 41°C yesterday, while Rome roasted at 40°C today. Mediterranean waters, now up to 5°C above average, are worsening the heat and even threatening to disrupt France’s nuclear power plants. See Page 3
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Vol. 10 Issue 251
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July 2nd - July 15th 2025
La Linea envisions building a new terminal at the airport as part of radical new ‘crossborder conurbation’ with Gibraltar
A BOLD proposal has been laid out to build a new airport terminal on Spanish soil, with the stated aim of converting Gibraltar and La Línea into a shared conurbation of 120,000 people. Even as the dust is still subsiding on last month’s announcement of a historic deal with the EU – and Spain – La Línea’s city council has revealed its radical ambitions for the Rock in a newly-released strategic memorandum. Among a number of other proposed measures, the town of 70,000 intends to shake up its urban planning to make room for a second passenger terminal next to Gibraltar’s existing airport. The project hopes to capitalise on the anticipated disappearance of the physical border and Gibraltar’s effective integration into the Schengen area, which would allow for joint border control and direct flights to Spanish cities for the first time in decades. The current treaty framework will already see arrivals passing through ‘dual’ custom checks – first with Gibraltar officers and then with Spanish. A second terminal, located on Spanish soil, could feasibly see the duplication effect inevitable with this compromise eradicated as internal Schengen visi-
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tors bypass Gibraltar entirely. According to the La Linea town hall, the deal poses a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to revitalise the struggling town and make the Campo de Gibraltar – home to Spain’s busiest port in Algeciras – and Gibraltar itself a new transport and logistics hub to rival Malaga, Sevilla and any other regional centre. Officials ultimately hope to turn this new ‘cross-border conurbation’ into the premier strategic transport hub in the southern Mediterranean. The town also aims to position itself as a launchpad for industries that complement Gibraltar’s low-tax model — including tech startups, smart tourism ventures and high-value service sectors. Officials even envisage the expanded airport hosting a so-called Cross-Border Innovation Park, which would serve as a technology cluster designed to attract international companies to the area.
EXPANDING: La Linea wants to transform the region with a second airport terminal The proposal, currently being reviewed as part of the town’s General Urban Development Plan, calls for the land next to the airport in anticipation of building the terminal. Officials have also reiterated the necessity of hooking La Linea up to the proposed Algeciras-Nerja coastal rail line – not expected to arrive for a minimum of 16 years, if ever. Meanwhile, existing public transport options would need to be massively upscaled, with fresh shuttle services provided to handle increased tourist arrivals and local demand. An expanded airport would put a huge strain on the already overcrowded road network in the area, with the existing A-7 motorway regularly grid-
locked each morning with cross-border workers heading to Gibraltar. While increased flights and accessibility to Gibraltar would bring obvious economic benefits in the form of increased tourism and business connections, it would only be feasible with a massive upgrade of the local transport infrastructure However, despite all the obstacles, La Línea officials believe the terminal would be one of the major steps in fully capitalising on the new Gibraltar deal – yet to be signed or ratified – and unlock the combined economic potential of the two jurisdictions. It creates what La Linea’s strategic memorandum describes as the need for ‘coordinated planning’ between the two territories as part of a sweeping vision to transform La Línea into a fully integrated partner in a post-Brexit future shared with Gibraltar. But it’s a vision that has not been universally welcomed on the Rock. 3000m2 shop The development would likely fundamentally alter the airLarge parking area port’s dynamics, as the Spanish terminal becomes the dominant gateway given that in such a hub 952 886 814 most passengers would be travelling onwards to Spain rather 699 572 116 than remaining in Gibraltar’s small territory. A7, Km 166. C/Séneca 2, The plans would naturally see the Spanish town receiving a Villa de Costalita, share of the revenue from the ESTEPONA, Málaga airport on its ways to integrating La Línea and Gibraltar into a ‘single-functioning cross-border conurbation.’ It also triggers fears of ‘sovereignty creep’, and anxiety that over time Spain will slowly disarm Gibraltar of its economic advantages and cultural distinctiveness – until it swallows it up entirely.
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