The Spanish Constitutional Court has maintained the suspension of part of the Valencian Coastal Law that was being used to protect the historic beachfront homes at Babilonia Beach in Guardamar del Segura.
The ruling does not order the immediate demolition of the properties. However, it removes the main legal protection used by residents and the Valencian Government to halt the demolition process.
Around 80 homes on Babilonia Beach are covered by final demolition orders. Many of the properties are more than a century old and form a distinctive row along the Guardamar coastline.
The Spanish Government challenged the Valencian law before the Constitutional Court, arguing that the regional legislation interfered with national powers over the coastline and publicly owned maritime land.
What happens now?
The court’s decision means the Valencian Government cannot currently rely on Article 17 of its Coastal Law to protect Babilonia as an area of special ethnological value.
Article 17 allowed the regional government to recognise groups of traditional coastal buildings for their cultural, historical or ethnological importance. It also permitted the preparation of conservation plans, negotiations with the Spanish Government and studies into whether land could be removed from the publicly owned coastal zone.
The court has not ruled on whether Article 17 is constitutional. Its latest decision deals only with whether the article should remain suspended while judges consider the main legal challenge.
However, the court accepted the Spanish Government’s argument that restoring the article temporarily could cause serious or irreversible harm to coastal land and the environment.
The future of the Babilonia homes will now depend mainly on the existing national coastal proceedings, final court judgments and any other legal protection that remains available.
Demolition orders already approved
According to information submitted by Spain’s Directorate-General for the Coast and Sea, the concessions that previously allowed the homes to occupy the beachfront have expired.
The national authorities ordered the buildings to be demolished for environmental and safety reasons. Those decisions were later upheld by both the National Court and the Supreme Court.
Residents had reportedly agreed to begin demolishing the properties in September 2025, while the company selected to carry out the work had received municipal permission.
However, the Valencian Government then began proceedings to recognise Babilonia as an urban area of special ethnological value. Temporary heritage-protection measures were introduced, bringing the planned demolitions to a halt.
The Constitutional Court said it would not yet decide whether those individual measures were legally valid. It nevertheless concluded that Article 17 had already affected the national government’s plans to restore publicly owned coastal land.
Guardamar mayor José Luis Sáez said the decision could allow the Spanish Government to proceed with the demolitions whenever it considers it appropriate.
The Constitutional Court has lifted a separate suspension relating to an official inventory of degraded coastal land. However, the provisions intended to protect traditional coastal settlements will remain suspended until a final judgment is delivered.
Spain’s Government and the Valencian administration previously reached agreement over most of the disputed sections of the regional law. They were unable to agree on the protection of settlements considered to have special ethnological value.
Meanwhile, Babilonia residents are continuing their campaign. They have organised another mass swim at the beach to demonstrate their determination to resist the demolition of their historic homes.
