The Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) has agreed to deny the precautionary suspension of the construction works of the extension of line 11 of the Madrid Metro, requested by Aedenat-Ecologistas en Acción, to stop the felling of trees in the parks of Arganzuela and Comillas (Carabanchel).
On Monday, the environmental confederation requested from the TSJM the very 'unheard of' precautionary measure of immediate suspension of the works to avoid the felling of more than 500 specimens in the two green areas that suffer the greatest impact in the suburban extension works.
The TSJM already denied the precautionary measures initially requested, with arguments such as that the imminent danger of logging was not real, but, now, Aedenat-Ecologistas en Acción alleged that "the felling of the trees that is taking place compromises the resolution of the sentence ", since in the case of being favorable and agreeing with the illegality of the procedure, it will be "useless" if the damage has already occurred.
Last Monday, tree felling began in the parks of Arganzuela and Comillas, the two green areas that suffer the greatest impact due to the modifications made by the Department of Transport of the Community of Madrid regarding the project originally submitted to environmental evaluation and information. public.
The order of the Eighth Section of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the TSJM, dated December 12 and to which Efe has had access, is taken as "established" that urgent circumstances exist in this case, due to "the imminent beginning , now yes - not last February when it was requested by the same plaintiff without any basis - of the expansion works of Metro line 11, and it is pointed out that it is now when it has to resolve the origin or not of adopt the requested precautionary measure.
In this case, the judicial resolution indicates, the request of the appellant association is "identical" to the one formulated at the time and already resolved, in a negative sense, in an order dated May 3, 2023.
"The appellant association points out that there would have been a modification of the initially approved Construction Project and that it would have been sent in the month of July 2023 by the General Directorate of Collective Transport Infrastructure to the General Directorate of Energy Transition and Circular Economy for the initiation of the simplified environmental evaluation procedure thereof; a document in relation to which, says the plaintiff, she would also have made allegations through administrative channels, which would indicate, in any case, that said modification, if such, of the original Project and challenged in these orders, it would not even be definitive," the order explains.
"For all this and despite its citation as antecedent in the document requesting precautionary protection, the Chamber cannot take into consideration such document, possibly Modified in 2023, since it is not the object of challenge in the main process from which this incident arises. ", he explains.
It also understands that the start this December of the execution works for the expansion of the aforementioned Metro line continues to find its accommodation in the Construction Project which, along with other resolutions, is challenged in this process; that is, the one approved by Resolution of November 25, 2021, of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.
And it concludes that the arguments put forward by the appellant association to support this new request for precautionary protection over the suspension of the execution of the expansion works are "a mere reproduction, with greater or lesser detail, of those articulated in the same request made to this Court last February 2023 and which were definitively rejected in its previous order of the following May 3.
