[Anonymous]

“Representatives of four Spanish property companies are threatening Greenpeace with legal action for damages totalling €27million, after the environmental group published pictures of La Manga, on the Costa Calida, devastated by global warming in the future.

Greenpeace released the pictures in November 2007 as part of its widely-published Photoclima report which highlighted the damage coastal areas around the world could potentially suffer due to the long-term affects of climate change. In one group of photos, it showed three different views of La Manga, with simulated scenarios of properties and high-rise apartment blocks submerged under metres of water by the year 2050.

Since the publication of the images, and due to the unmistakeable natural features of La Manga, agents and developers in the region claim that sales and interest from overseas buyers have declined, with many potential investors citing Greenpeace’s photos as the main reason.

A statement from Greenpeace confirmed that the complaint had been received and revealed that the companies in question were Inversiones Dos Mares SL, Faher Holidays SL, Bureau Investment and Nuevo Pozo Estrecho S.A. The organisation said that the property collective is asking for €27million in compensation for perceived losses in revenue and has threatened to take legal action unless the monies are paid.

Greenpeace has since referred the matter to its lawyers and spoke out against the move saying it amounts to little more than bullying.”

source OPP

[Anonymous]

……so now it’s Greenpeace at fault!!!

would anybody take Spanish property developers seriously any more?

I hope Greenpeace counter-sue. How much damge have the developers already done to Spain?

[Anonymous]

goodstich44 wrote:

……so now it’s Greenpeace at fault!!!

would anybody take Spanish property developers seriously any more?

I hope Greenpeace counter-sue. How much damge have the developers already done to Spain?

I hope the property developers have as much success in the courts as, people requesting a return of their deposits for non delivery of property have had, I expect the courts will find for their developer friends as usual.

[Anonymous]

For more information on this story, and the photos:

http://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/buff/?p=124

Mark

[Anonymous]

Surely the developers can never win this case, it seems like a desperate (and seriously flawed) attempt to save their hides!

I’d bet that there is a lot of evidence to show that the downturn in Spain was not entirely due to Greenpeace. 😀

I wonder how many of the intended customer’s would see the Greenpeace material, my guess would be something in the region of 0% (mas o menos) 😉

What pillocks, I’d love to see their faces when they loose this case 😆

[Anonymous]

Two sets of pillocks then!!

[Anonymous]

jwc

no, 4 lots of developers, not 2.

[Anonymous]

Hi All,

The builder I sell for is building in the area of La Manga shown in the photos. The project is around 300 places. When these pictures were first shown, especially on Spanish TV, they were presented as what WILL happen to La Manga.

She was furious. She has had the plot for many years and has never failed to deliver a property on time and with title deeds. Just because some builders in Spain are bad, it’s not fair to tarnish all the same as usually happens on this forum.

These are all front line beach apartments which should never be hard to sell in any climate but now phase 2 is stopped and a lot of workers have been laid off.

So please remember when you knock every builder in Spain, think about the plasterer, plumber, tiler, electrician and the rest of the workers that are now without jobs.

Best wishes

Bernard

[Anonymous]

Blawes1, I know the building family you are refering to. There is no doubt they are a 1st class builder both in quality and legality, they are also the nicest people you could ever deal with. They also pay the agent quickly which is a novelty these days.

However, I don´t think their sales drop can be 100% ascribed to Greenpeace.

Since the photo´s were released in Nov 07 – there has been a general down-turn in all property sales in Spain and around the world. Whilst it is a possibility that some potential buyers have been put off by the Greenpeace images, it is possibly a tiny few compared to those effected by the exchange rate and lack of easy/cheap mortgages.

The case, if it ever went before the courts, would have to be able to identify and quantify those put off from buying because of the images, and that I think is quite impossible.

I doubt there will be a case unless a corrupt judge can be found in Spain 😕

[Anonymous]

@blawes1 wrote:

…. Just because some builders in Spain are bad, it’s not fair to tarnish all the same as usually happens on this forum.

….So please remember when you knock every builder in Spain,

Despite what you and some others say, no-one has ever said ‘all’ builders, developers, lawyers etc. in all the time I’ve been a member.

Getting a bit fed up of reading this – we shouldn’t have to keep justifying ad nauseam.

[Anonymous]

I doubt there will be a case unless a corrupt judge can be found in Spain

Spoilt for choice! 😉

[Anonymous]

Whatever the truth of the original impact of the photos on the market (minimal, in my opinion), the developers are fools to try and pin the blame for the fall in sales on Greenpeace. They won’t win, and all it does is draw attention to the photos again, presumably the last thing the developers want.

The press may have reported the photos as showing what WILL happen, but that can’t be blamed on Greenpeace, who used the photos to illustrate what MIGHT happen if global warming continues, and sea levels rise as expected. To win, the developers would have to prove that it is an impossible scenario, which they can’t do.

So all the developers will achieve with this threat is to make even more people aware of a possible scenario in which much of La Manga is under water by 2050. Very clever.

The La Manga strip, a fabulous example of mindless urban development, is almost 100% holiday homes. Is it any wonder that sales have collapsed now that the speculative boom has come to an end, money is getting tight, and buyers are getting more fussy?

Mark

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I do agree that its pointless for the developers to try and bring a court case, they will have no chance of winning.

And I also agree that the downturn on the strip cant all be down to the Greenpeace pics but some of it is. Frontline aparments at that end of the strip are much better than the awful beginning part of the strip.

I do feel sorry for the hundreds of workers that through no fault of their own, either because of the downturn or the Greenpeace pics have no work. This destroys families.

I live in Canvey Island (someone has to!) and it’s below sea level all the time with a huge wall to keep the sea out. And we have never seen anyone from Greenpeace here complaining about the thousands of extra houses built here.

Maybe I will start a “save canvey island” campaign!! 😀

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I do agree that its pointless for the developers to try and bring a court case, they will have no chance of winning.

And I also agree that the downturn on the strip cant all be down to the Greenpeace pics but some of it is. Frontline aparments at that end of the strip are much better than the awful beginning part of the strip.

I do feel sorry for the hundreds of workers that through no fault of their own, either because of the downturn or the Greenpeace pics have no work. This destroys families.

I live in Canvey Island (someone has to!) and it’s below sea level all the time with a huge wall to keep the sea out. And we have never seen anyone from Greenpeace here complaining about the thousands of extra houses built here.

Maybe I will start a “save canvey island” campaign!! 😀

[Author]

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