The war between the Jarama Circuit and the residents of Ciudalcampo has taken a new turn. For the first time, a court has ruled in favour of the owners of the houses around the historic Madrid circuit. They have achieved this ‘milestone’ thanks to a lawsuit in which they pointed out that it was illegal for the San Sebastián de los Reyes City Council to grant the activity license to the circuit “due to administrative silence”.
The ruling is not final and according to sources from RACE – the company that owns the circuit – they will appeal the ruling to the High Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM), while continuing their activity while the case is resolved.
This complaint stems from the discontent of some residents over the alleged noise generated by the circuit activity. This was confirmed by the lawyer for the prosecution – Jorge Pinedo, from Juristas Contra el Ruido – who began working with the complainants following their complaints about the alleged excess of decibels. Specifically, sources from RACE indicate that two people have gone to court, although Pinedo maintains that they represent “more than five hundred residents.”
The Central Court of Contentious Matters 11 has ruled in favour of the complaining residents. The ruling, advanced by Economist & Jurist, states that “the license for activity and operation of the Jarama Circuit, in accordance with the project called the Jarama Circuit Installation Project of 1973, has not been granted due to positive silence, and that the San Sebastián de los Reyes City Council must adopt the measures to re-establish urban planning legality that are appropriate and imposes costs on the two defendants, RACE and the Sebastián de los Reyes City Council.”
The complaint was the way the neighbours found to ‘get their hands on’ the circuit and put an end to its activity, against which they have been fighting for years. Pinedo himself says that one of the complainants “has to look at the race calendar” to know when to receive visitors at home and that there is no control over the decibels.
The circuit maintains that since the 2021 Plan for the track was launched, activity has focused on presentations and events, moving away from competition, so the inconvenience has been minimal for many years and that complaints from residents are exaggerated. This newspaper has verified that this is the case: according to the Jarama sports calendar, There are only races on 13 weekends out of 51 which has this year 2024.
RACE sources say that, in addition, in the section that goes from the Hípica curve to the Bugatti descent, there is a sound meter and signs warning that one is entering a conflict zone, so that noise cannot be made. The prosecution denies the existence of signs, although this newspaper has confirmed that they do exist.
In addition, Jarama maintains that in this conflict zone, it has installed acoustic screens to reduce the impact on the housing developments. A system that according to the accusation “is not worth much”, since according to “the head of the environment of the San Sebastián de los Reyes City Council, there is no corrective measure possible due to the topography of the land, since it has a slope”.
Pinedo maintains that the Jarama River generates “a great environmental impact” and that this has never been measured by a report, something that is essential, according to him, to be able to receive an activity license. For this reason, he considers it incorrect that this is granted by administrative silence.
Pinedo predicts that “under the current terms” the Jarama appeal will not go ahead, as it is “impossible” to have a circuit “without an environmental assessment throughout its history.” If the trial ends in a final judgment, the Circuit would have to close its doors because it would not be able to carry out activities on its historic route.
This newspaper wanted to speak with the complaining neighbours, but they have declined the invitation “for the moment” due to the huge controversy that the court ruling in favour of the neighbours has caused. Because the ruling has raised many eyebrows outside the RACE. There is great unrest among motor racing enthusiasts, as they consider it unfair that the neighbours complain about the noise from the circuit because they knew what they were buying and its contraindications: the track was built in 1963, years before the work on the surrounding houses began.
Source: www.vozpopuli.com
