The Community of Madrid, with the approval of the capital's City Council, yesterday began the felling of more than 300 trees of the 676 that are planned in the latest approved plan for the expansion of line 11 of the metro. The initial 2020 project only contemplated the felling of 79 trees, but the modifications in recent years have led to the numbers rising by 856%.
In addition, it is planned to transplant 203 trees, bringing the total number of affected trees to 879, according to the latest project. However, the Community of Madrid yesterday offered the figure that 523 trees will finally be felled, without specifying the cut. In this context, in addition, initially about 10,000 square meters of green areas were going to be affected by the works, a figure that will eventually increase to about 48,000 square meters.
Neighborhood movements from Arganzuela, together with the Rebelión o Extinción collective, tried to stop the logging carried out by the workers yesterday, but more than six police vehicles with more than 20 officers went to the area to stop the neighbors' protests. Three protesters tied themselves to trees and were arrested.
Fences had been put up in the area to avoid confrontation, but protesters and representatives of the municipal opposition, such as Reyes Maroto (PSOE) or Rita Maestre (Más Madrid) appeared at the scene to show their unrest. Yesterday afternoon, Ecologista en Acción asked the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid to issue extremely precautionary measures to stop the felling of trees that had begun in the parks of Arganzuela and Comillas. And Más Madrid has also assured that the issue will end up in court.
The extension of metro line 11 means building 33 more kilometers of the Madrid suburban line to connect Cuatro Vientos with Valdebebas Norte. This means building more than 20 new stations, which will link with T4 of the Adolfo Suárez Airport in Madrid Barajas. Now, the works will be carried out on almost 7 kilometers, which covers the section between Plaza Elíptica and Conde de Casal. This route includes two new stations, located in Comillas and Madrid Río.
The Community of Madrid has relied on article 163.5 of the Land Law to defend that the logging is carried out because it is "urgent and of general interest."
The neighbors defend that the logging is illegal because not even the Special Plan to Execute the works has been approved, which has to be approved by both administrations. They remember that "this opaque procedure of dubious legality" has similarities with the splitting of the M501 or the Chamberí Golf course, which were annulled by Justice. In addition, they demand that all documents and reports be finalized to avoid problems in nearby homes, as has happened in San Fernando de Henares, where houses have collapsed due to the works on the expansion of another metro line, as happened in Barcelona with Carmel, where more than 1,000 people had to live in hotels for the collapse of their houses and cost the insurance companies 80 million in compensation. The complainants insist that there are "viable alternatives that are much less harmful."
The Madrid City Council approved the felling, despite showing disagreement, since the metro is intended to be installed in a green area, incompatible with the planning. Hence, the neighbors complain of "the complicity" of the council as the two Administrations are governed by the PP.
