The Almería provincial prosecutor has opened an investigation into seven Carboneras town hall councillors after they postponed a basic vote on revoking the building licence for the controversial Algarrobico hotel on the coast of Carboneras, Almería. The session, originally scheduled for 17 June, was delayed by five PSOE councillors and two non-affiliated members, prompting a backlash from environmental groups and a formal complaint to the prosecutor’s office.
The hotel, long seen as a symbol of unchecked coastal development, has been at the centre of legal battles for more than two decades. The delayed vote was intended to cancel the 2003 construction permit, but the councillors argued that further reports were needed to clarify potential compensation for the developer. Environmental organisations, including Greenpeace and Salvemos Mojácar, countered that multiple court rulings, most recently from the Supreme Court, had already established that the company was not entitled to compensation.
Salvemos Mojácar called the councillors’ move a clear act of administrative misconduct and filed a complaint naming José Luis Amérigo, Ángeles Carrillo, Felipe Cayuela, Francisco Capel, Vanesa Fuentes, Mariana Esteban and Isabel Hernández. The prosecutor’s office requested the official minutes of the June council meeting and an explanation for the suspension. The municipality provided both.
The PSOE’s provincial leadership opened disciplinary proceedings and temporarily expelled the five party councillors involved. In a report dated 25 September 2026, the EFE news agency said the councillors’ expulsion was still pending before the party’s ethics body. Greenpeace also criticised the delay. The Junta de Andalucía and the Ministry for Ecological Transition joined its appeal to the Andalusian High Court (TSJA), asking it to force the council to annul the licence. The TSJA issued an ultimatum, giving the town hall 20 days to act or risk the court annulling the permit itself.
On 7 July, the council voted to revoke the hotel’s licence in an extraordinary session. The decision passed with the support of the mayor, Salvador Hernández (Ciudadanos), and the seven councillors present. Four others, including Felipe Cayuela, two PSOE members and Ángeles Carrillo, left the chamber before the vote. PSOE councillors who supported the annulment were allowed to remain in the party.
Salvemos Mojácar welcomed the prosecutor’s investigation, calling it a positive sign that possible administrative wrongdoing was being taken seriously. The group hopes the case will set a precedent and lead to accountability for actions that have delayed the hotel’s demolition for more than 20 years. But it warned that the process is far from over: the developer still has the right to appeal the licence annulment.
The Algarrobico case shows the difficulties of enforcing environmental and urban planning laws in Spain, along with wider tensions between local authorities and the judiciary, with environmental groups also involved. Delayed or contested decisions by local officials have been an issue elsewhere. Recent disputes over relocating unaccompanied migrant minors in Ceuta, for example, have exposed friction between different levels of government, as detailed in this report on regional resistance to central government initiatives.
The Algarrobico hotel still stands on protected land, and its future is uncertain. The case remains part of debates over urban legality and environmental protection, as well as the responsibilities of public officials in Spain. The prosecutor’s investigation could influence how similar cases are handled across the country, especially where local decisions have national environmental implications.
The hotel was built on land later declared non-developable, and environmentalists have demanded its demolition for years. The lengthy legal process has shown how difficult it can be to reverse past planning decisions and why urban regulations need to be clear and enforceable. Local residents and national observers concerned about the integrity of Spain’s coastal management policies are following the case closely.
