The town of Benissa has rejected a plan to urbanize a section of coastal Spain called the “Tossal del Tender.” The plan was proposed by a company called Paradise Hills, L.L.C. — which is reported to be owned by Dolores O’Riordan, lead singer for The Cranberries. The decision was made last Tuesday at a planning session, and was voted upon by members of urban development groups PP, PSOE, and Grupo Mixto.

O’Riordan purchased the hilly land known as “Tossal del Tender” approximately five years ago after touring it via helicopter. After viewing it, she ordered her representatives to purchase the mount, an estimated 80 squared kilometers (about 50 sq. mi.) of virgin land. The area is said to have a marvellous costal view, from Ifach all the way to the Cabo de Moraira. O’Riordan founded Paradise Hills as a means of developing the land.

Tuesday’s decision was O’Riordan’s second stumbling block in attempting to urbanize the land. She originally proposed to build a luxury hotel, but the idea was rejected by the local city council. She then instead proposed to build four mansions on the huge expanse of land. However, to do so, the entire area surrounding Tossal del Tender would have to be urbanized with plumbing, electricty, roads, and other infrastructures, an area of nearly 300 sq. km. (190 sq. mi.). Paradise Hills had intended to invest 150 million pesetas ($800,000 US) into the urbanization, with a promise to create as minimal of an environmental impact as possible. However, the municipal architect ultimately decided that there were far too many technical problems with the idea. He reported this at the planning session last Tuesday and the committee complied by declining approval of the project.

Thanks to INNER for the tip.

Source: Levante-EMV Digital