Sanxenxo buys Miraflores land to protect views

Land policy is usually dry. This one isn’t. Sanxenxo has decided that one of its most buildable hillsides is more valuable as scenery than as housing, and that’s the whole story here. In a council vote on Monday, May 4, the town approved buying the SU-11 Miraflores sector from Sareb so the land can be kept largely free of development instead of being built out under existing planning. (lavozdegalicia.es) ### What exactly did Sanxenxo approve? The council approved the purchase of two urbanizable sectors from Sareb — SU-27 in Altamira, Vilalonga, and SU-11 in Miraflores, Padriñán — in an extraordinary session that passed unanimously with support from PP, PSOE, and BNG. The Miraflores piece is (lavozdegalicia.es)ly buildable area turned into a very visible neighborhood. (lavozdegalicia.es) ### Why is Miraflores the flashpoint? Because the slope is big, exposed, and visually important. Mayor Telmo Martín said the town wants to buy it precisely because more than 400 homes could be built there and the local government does not want “any” homes built across most of that area. The (lavozdegalicia.es) that kind of buildout would not read like infill — it would read like a new wall on the hillside. (pontevedraviva.com) ### So is this anti-housing? Not really — and that’s the key nuance. Sanxenxo approved the Miraflores purchase at the same time as a second land operation in Vilalonga that is meant to support around 350 protected public homes promoted by the Xunta de Galicia. Basically, the town is making a sorting decision: dense housing goes where services and transport already make sense, while the most sensitive viewpoint land gets pulled back from development. (lavozdegalicia.es) ### What happens to the land instead? The plan is to rewrite the area’s future use. Around 70% of the Miraflores sector — about 96,500 square meters — would be reclassified as specially protected rustic land for open public space. The town also wants to recover the old Camiño Real that cross(lavozdegalicia.es)aged landscape asset. (pontevedraviva.com) ### Why buy it from Sareb? Because Sareb owns the land, and ownership matters more than rhetoric. The tract passed through Fadesa and Martinsa before ending up with Sareb, the bad-bank vehicle created after Spain’s property crash. As long as the land sits with a holder whose job is to dispose of assets(pontevedraviva.com)ain about it. (lavozdegalicia.es) ### Is the deal done already? Not quite. Martín said the negotiation with Sareb has been tough, but he also said he expects the purchase to close this month. Funding would come through the same Xunta-backed loan structure the town is using for these land operations more broadly. So the political decision is made, but the transaction still has to be completed and then followed by a planning change. (lavozdegalicia.es) ### Why does this matter beyond one hillside? Because it shows a town choosing what kind of growth it wants while it still can. Coastal municipalities usually talk about balancing housing, tourism, and landscape. Sanxenxo is trying to draw that balance on the map — very literally. Build in Vilalonga. Keep Miraflores green. If the purchase closes, that becomes more than a slogan. (lavozdegalicia.es)