Lawn or Golf course?

In the protected area of Sierra Escalona, in the municipality of San Miguel de Salinas, on the border between the provinces of Alicante and Murcia, a strange thing has happened. Without any environment study presented at the regional government of Valencia, together with an application for a DIC (Declaracion de Interes Comunitario) to be able to use protected agricultural land for urbanistic purposes, has come an 8-hole golf course.

When asked what has happened, both the owner of the land and the town hall have
explained that there is no golf course on the land, only a plantation of grass!

The owner, and the town hall, seems to have feared that in this area declared "Lugar de Importancia Comunitaria" (Place of importance for the region), even the Golf-loving urbanistic authorities of the Valencia government would not have dared to give their approval.

Instead the promoter makes a lawn, looking very much like a golf course, with bunkers, red flags and palm trees.

What will happen?
An innocent from the north expects that the authorities will issue a stern instruction that the land be transformed to its original state, and that such a command will be followed.
It may be that the northern innocents will be wrong, that the authorities say nothing, that after some time golf players drift on to the lawn, swinging their clubs. Then a bit later, the municipality will permit the setting up of toilets at the edge of the lawn. They will be built and by and by extended to look much like a club house with a bar and maybe even a restaurant.

In the end we could end up with a golf-resort, with thousand dwellings and a supermarket. Illegal,yes. But it would not be the first.

Golf

The worst enemies of golfing are the property promoters, planning golf courses everywhere to be able to build some thousand of dwellings around them. And of course, the politicians approving the plans for such constellations and the construction of more golf courses all over the territory, the more the better.

The citizens in the municipalities where out-of-town builders and politicians plans/approves makro-urbanisations with one or more golf courses, are protesting. They do not want the scarce resources of land and water to be misused. Local politicians often support the mega-projects, since they are giving the local town hall tax income to cover rising expences.

Several countries in Europe can report the construction of more golf courses than there are golfers using them. Several places along the Spanish Mediterranean coast are heading rapidly for that situation.

I cannot think of any other sport where is needed more space in relation to users and spectators. I cannot think of any other sport where is neeeded more water per user.

Why not use the rain-heavy parts of Spain for golf courses and make public parks open for anyone between the houses on the coastal developments?