Andorra Court Rules Casa Xirro Plot Not Consolidated Urban Land Due to Missing Services

Andorra's Superior Court of Justice has ruled that the plot known as Terres del Solà de l’Estany, or Casa Xirro, near Engolasters Lake in Escaldes-Engordany, cannot be classified as consolidated urban land due to the absence of essential services such as potable water, sewerage, lighting, and adequate access.

In a judgment dated 5 March 2026, the court's administrative chamber dismissed an appeal by the landowners—the heirs of Joan Tomàs—upholding the parish council's earlier position and partially annulling the 2007 and 2018 Parish Urban Planning Plans (POUP) specifically for this site. A judicial expert report found the urbanization executed to only about 40%, in a state of significant degradation, with no buildings or operational services, despite its formal classification as consolidated urban land.

The dispute traces back to 2022, when the parish council, under lead consuls Rosa Gili and Quim Dolsa, launched a lesivity process to challenge decades-old decisions dating to 1992. This included questioning land boundaries, a land swap, and the site's urban status. Initial claims on boundaries and the swap were dismissed as time-barred, but the court focused on the classification issue, ruling that material reality—lacking basic infrastructure—overrides formal planning designations.

The landowners had argued that a 2018 amendment to the General Territorial Planning and Urbanism Law (LGOTU) allowed flexibility for pre-existing approved urbanizations, even if incomplete, and cited comparable cases like Can Noguer. The court rejected this, stating the provision addresses only technical road adjustments, not the absence of core services required under Article 25 of the LGOTU. It emphasized that "effective and operational" infrastructure is mandatory.

Escaldes-Engordany council expressed satisfaction with the outcome. Rosa Gili, the lead consul, told media the parish "applied the regulations correctly" and acted to defend the public interest, not against individuals, despite the "complicated and painful" process involving politically connected families. She noted the council did not initiate litigation; the owners sued after their residential estate permit—envisioning single-family homes—was denied.

The ruling closes the lesivity case but leaves a related lawsuit over the permit denial paused; it is expected to resume and likely affirm the rejection. The Tomás family is reviewing options, including a potential appeal to the Constitutional Court, though sources describe this path as exceptional. Meanwhile, Escaldes-Engordany's urban planning remains suspended pending a new POUP revision.