Por Ismael Buendia 
The Andalusian Regional Government has halted illegal construction on 21 plots on preserved rustic land with scenic values and in a flood-prone area in Lomopardo, in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz). The Inspection Team of the General Directorate of Territorial Planning and Urban Agenda of the Ministry of Development, Territorial Articulation, and Housing, together with the Civil Guard and the Regional Police, have stopped this parceling and proceeded to seal off the plots.
The Urban Inspection has intervened on an area of 57,207 square meters, where, without any kind of license or administrative control, the physical division of several plots into 21 lots was carried out. The offenders had already carried out various works such as perimeter fences and access gates, several buildings and auxiliary constructions, as well as the placement of containers. These actions are prohibited by the Andalusian Land Sustainability Promotion Law (LISTA), which classifies them as a very serious offense against territorial planning.
The actions were reported to the Civil Guard, which carried out significant investigative work in coordination with the regional inspection of the Andalusian Government to ensure the successful completion of the legality restoration procedures.
The sealing of these plots aims to halt the rapid illegal urbanization process in the Lomopardo area. In addition to being on rustic land, these plots encroached on the Police Zone of the Arroyo Salado stream and, specifically, some of them are located in a flood-prone area.
This illegal settlement is also located on land preserved for its scenic values, in an area near the Andalusian Highway A-4, in the La Cartuja area. The affected area includes a set of forest spaces or areas close to the river and natural value zones. This protection covers various areas such as the marshlands of Jerez de la Frontera, the Gibalbín or San Cristóbal Mountains, the topographical reliefs on the Guadalete riverbanks, or the most prominent elements of the Livestock Plains.
During the intervention, around thirty identified property owners by the Andalusian Government and the Civil Guard were summoned to ensure the proportionality of the measures. The operation involved the inspection of the Ministry of Development, in coordination with the Civil Guard and the Regional Police, responsible for the protection of the public hydraulic domain and technicians from Endesa and the Water Consortium of the Cádiz area. Likewise, the support of the National Police responsible for Citizen Security in Jerez de la Frontera was also enlisted.
The reported facts may constitute offenses related to territorial planning and urbanism, so the case has been forwarded to the specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Environmental and Urbanism Offenses.
This intervention was carried out under the regulatory framework established by the Andalusian Government with the Land Sustainability Promotion Law (LISTA) and its regulations, which have strengthened regional inspection, allowing it to exercise direct competencies against territorial infractions on rustic land. This change enables proactive action and an increase in interventions to preserve the territory.
In fact, the performance assessment of the Ministry of Development, Territorial Articulation, and Housing in terms of urban inspection and territorial planning ended with a record of 2,149 interventions in 2024. These figures highlight the nearly 500 seals and, above all, the number of plots and buildings penalized for illegal construction, which has increased fourteenfold compared to 2018.