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Where wealth meets paradise
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SOTOGRANDE GLISTENS
Discover the jewel tucked away on the Andalucian coast in our supplement See Page 9
OLIVE PRESS MEGA-RESORT OUTRAGE to sailing, PRIVILEGE: From polo class to Sotogrande is in a different the Costa del Sol
T
like Sotogrande HERE is nowhere in Spain in summertime. private enThe country’s most exclusive destination for the clave, this is the go-to discreetly wealthy and famous.who come to visit Even the privileged tourists say, are surprised at the from Marbella or Ibiza,
How a hard-working team of workers saved their famous hotel from certain destruction after a wildfire came within four metres of its walls
GIBRALTAR
Cartier and With names like Domecq,no wonder Sotogrande Oppenheimer in the mix, of the rich and is the Mediterranean playground and Jon Clarke famous, writes Dilip Kuner
pines. of his previlocation and near-perfect Inspired by the success is With its unbeatable difference. this paradise is one of ous venture, he set his sights on repexcellent, the marina “The golf courses are there are no piles of traf- weather, it’s no wonder spots to live. on the sunny most sought-after a licating that exclusivity safe and uncongested, nice,” explains local Spain’s west of Malaga, it offers of Spanish coast and in 1962, sent hisa fic and people are generally who has spent his Lying just 100km Melian, on world’s ‘Pillars cousin, Alfredo ‘Fredy’ front-row seat to the ancient businessman Ben Bateman, of Gibraltar and Mo- mission to find the perfect plot. Hercules’ – that’s the Rock life in the resort. more than a moin Sotogrande over the rocco’s Jebel Musa. to Armed with little “It has changed so much for the good,” he cona sense of adventure, moguls and A-listers head last two decades and all is so much more to do It’s where business fruits of their wealth. From torbike and then Melian scoured the region’s and enjoy the tinues. “Above all, there and going out and relax and private jets to golf and polo, every- rugged dirt roads. yachts here now in terms of eating about your teenagers at one here seems to be living a lifestyle few could His efforts paid off when he discovGiyou don’t have to worry 1,800-hectare estate near sprawling a of. ered dream night.” sleepy agricultural estate braltar. of cool spots, including He’s referring to a string After Polo where hun- But how did this once for the elite? owned by a succession The farmland had been the into a playground Agora, Trocadero and the through the warm turn mastermind behind the transformation was of the rich and famous – the Duke of Arcos,man, The dreds of youngsters gather then-richest American-Filipino Larios gin family and Spain’s Joseph McMicking, an and summer evenings. ‘After Polo’... it’s one arms and tobacco dealer business tycoon. presi- Juan March, aneponymous science and arts inYes, you read that correctly, will be rubbing shoulders McMicking had already made his mark as of the where your youngsters where he brought founder Made in Chelsea of the Ayala Corporation,to life in the Philip- stitution. dent with Middle Eastern princes, propolo Park Argentinian the prestigious Forbes princesses and, of course, not to like? fessionals. What is there
It seemed fated for the boxes. grander use – and it ticked Sotogrande without hav“We bought the land at a poke,” said McMicking. ing seen it, like a pig in and had to pay another “Paid $750,000 down the rest in a year.” third in six months and He arrived with his Continues on next page nephews, Jaime and
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to the scheme, in particular citing wildlife and issues over water. Allied with local group Agaden, they claim the scheme will be devastating for ‘endangered birds, fragile dunes, and wetlands that act as flood protection’. On top of that, Tarifa is already struggling with water shortages and creaking public services, especially during the peak summer months. “There just isn’t enough to go around,” Gil continued. “There’s not enough housing for the people who live here. There’s not enough water. There’s barely enough space to breathe in August. And now they want to build a mini city on a nature reserve? “This is being driven by pure speculation, as the local people already can’t even afford the homes here. Meanwhile the council is pushing through projects for rich outsiders.” He added the public consultation process was ‘a joke’, after all 157 objections - including expert reports warning about flooding, infrastructure and legal violations - were ignored. “They’re not listening,” Gil said. “They’re turning Tarifa into another Costa del Sol, and no one voted for that. “The people who love this place, who live here year-round - we’re being shut out.” Legal action is being prepared, and protests are expected over
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tional Inter na & K U ll A ms TV syste Sound CCTV - n & Visio t Inter ne c & 4G ti p O r Fibe
ONE of the last truly unspoilt stretches of Spain’s southern coastline could be buried under concrete after a town council brazenly ignored 157 detailed objections. Despite years of campaigning, green groups were left stunned when councillors in Tarifa approved plans to develop one of its virgin beaches. The mega-resort beside Los Lances beach will see a quiet, low-key area built on with 730 homes and a string of hotels totalling 1,360 beds. The protected area, roughly the size of 80 football pitches, is just metres from the dunes and wetlands of the Parque Natural del Estrecho. It is also just a few hundred metres from the inland Parque Natural del Alconocales, and part of the EU’s Natura 2000 network. But this hasn’t stopped Tarifa town hall from dusting off a plan from the 1990s to bring in much needed revenue from building licences. “This isn’t housing for families for Tarifa - it’s more second homes for the wealthy, more hotels for mass tourism, and more stress on a town that’s already at breaking point,” spokesman for Ecologistas en Accion Javier Gil told the Olive Press. “People come to Tarifa to see untouched beaches - not to spend their holidays staring at concrete blocks,” he added. His group was just one of many green groups that put in detailed objections
OU
Historical The government invoked historical examples where respected institutions later proved fallible, citing the FBI and CIA’s flawed ‘weapons of mass destruction’ assessments before the Iraq War and the BBC’s discredited 2003 ‘sexed up’ dossier reporting. “Democracy is not served by treating any authority as infallible,” the statement read, emphasising that ‘no institution is above question’ and calling for accountability ‘on ALL sides.’ Officials accused Transparency International of publishing ‘a narrative that omits key facts, echoes partisan positions, and repeats unfounded allegations.’ The government urged readers to examine their ‘full answers sideby-side’ with the claims, allowing Gibraltar’s electorate to ‘judge for themselves’ based on complete evidence from all parties involved.
August 13th - August 26th 2025
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THE government has come out swinging against yet more criticism from Transparency International over the Public Auditor’s findings. Fresh from a public spat during the hearings for the McGrail inquiry last year, in a new statement the government denied that its ‘resistance to scrutiny amounts to an authoritarian power grab’. Officials pointed out the apparent contradiction that the institutions criticising them are ‘mostly FUNDED by the very government they seek to criticise’ – including McGrail’s defence team and the General Audit Office in Gibraltar.
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Alarming 730 ‘luxury’ homes and 1,360 hotel beds planned for unspoilt beach despite 157 objections and warnings of environmental disaster
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THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
Vol. 10 Issue 254
PRISTINE: Los Lances beach, with (inset) a detail of just part of the proposed development the summer. “We’re not going to take this lying down,” added Gil. “If they think we’ll just let them destroy this coast without a fight, they’ve got another thing coming.”
Estepona. “Either way, I think this is a huge mistake for Tarifa and particularly from a public image perspective,” he said. Campaigners also insist the move is part of a much bigger land grab. The Olive Press previously revealed that six major coastal sites had been Russians earmarked for development by the The Los Lances scheme has been kick- town hall - even including emblematic ing around since the early 2000s and Valdevaqueros beach. is based on a town plan from 1990 - Collectively this would mean a 450% before any proper environmental laws expansion of Tarifa’s urban footprint. were in place. One of the longest-established hotel But with big foreign investors report- owners in the area, Peter Whaley, at edly circling, the council has brought it the Hurricane told the Olive Press: back to life. “It’s crazy. We should be doing everyOlive Press Property Insider Adam thing we can to protect this stretch of Neale, who knows the area well, un- coast. It’s one of the last places that derstands much of the money is com- hasn’t been wrecked by development.” ing from a Russian group, linked to The plan is now in the hands of the Junta, which will decide whether to give it the green light after an environmental review. 3000m2 shop But campaigners fear the decision is already a done deal, espeLarge parking area cially with the PP party running both the council and the regional government.
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