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ARCHIVED - Spain warns UK against unlawful construction on Gibraltar
Gibraltar has been creating ‘landfills’ to reclaim additional territory from the sea
The government of Spain has once again voiced its objection to the UK to any construction work in Gibraltar on spaces not specified by the 1715 Treaty of Utrecht and has claimed that the community’s expansion over Spanish waters is contrary to International Law and “has a negative environmental impact in areas of special sensitivity.”
Under the Treaty, which was signed over 300 years ago, Spain ceded the Rock to the United Kingdom but the territory was limited to the city and castle of Gibraltar, together with its port, defences and fortresses. It did not include the waters surrounding the British colony. Despite this, regional officials have been reclaiming land from the sea for years for various urban projects, including the ambitious ‘Cape Vantage’ endeavour, a considerable expansion of the Gibraltar territory for sporting and leisure activities.
The government in Spain has been opposing Cape Vantage since 2012 and has called on the UK to provide an environmental impact report “as soon as possible.”
Gibraltar has been expanding by creating ‘landfills’ – large tongues of land reclaimed from the sea by filling the area with rubble and debris. At present, another megaproject is in the process of being built: Las Terrazas del Centenario de Hassan, six huge towers containing 665 homes, a promenade, through road, car park and shopping areas.
This latest dispute between London and Madrid comes just days after the Foreign Ministers of Spain, José Manuel Albares, and the United Kingdom, Liz Truss, met to advance the agreement on Gibraltar within the framework of European negotiations.
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