In the Butroi River Valley, near Butroi Castle, residents are justifiably concerned about the environmental impact of a wedding hospitality project. It should be remembered that the Butroi River is one of the rivers that forms part of the European Mink Management Plan and, naturally, any project of this type would have a negative impact on the recovery of one of the most threatened mammals in Europe. And it is in this picturesque location that Finca Viñedos de Butrón hopes to offer wedding catering for up to 400 guests! The current tenants had previously celebrated some weddings, small group weddings even though they did not have permission to do so. And taking advantage of the good will of the neighbours, they have not only continued with this practice, but also, as of next January, the Mahasti Farm House will be rented out to a catering group whose intention is to use the place to celebrate huge wedding events.
Despite stating on their website that they comply with all safety and protection evaluations and claiming to have undergone an impact assessment on outdoor sound levels, what they omit is that they initially evaded the process required by the Water Agency, URA. They have not requested an environmental impact assessment, a legal requirement given the level of disruption that hundreds of people can cause eating and drinking in this natural environment. In fact, they have already been fined for not declaring the real scope of the work they have been carrying out in the hotel grounds.
During the summer, numerous trucks with tons of earth have gone up and down the small country road, causing serious damage to the road and again without requesting permission from Gatika town council either. Their intention was to build a huge parking lot and make a cement platform for a permanent structure of a wedding tent. Fortunately, thanks to the complaints of the neighbors, the work has been temporarily paralyzed and the neighbors hope to be able to suspend it definitively.
It is understandable that neighbours feel that such a large project is totally inappropriate in an area of great natural biodiversity. For this reason, the local association of neighbours, La Asociación de Vecinos Butrón Denak Elkarrekin, have been in contact with the local authorities and have presented an official complaint to the Basque Government for the inappropriateness of such a massive entertainment project next to the Butroi River. Butroi Bizirik Trantsizioan fully expresses its support for the Butroi neighbours and once again insists on the need for the Butroi River to be declared a Protected Biotope to protect the biodiversity around the river.
