Three Canillo landowners close cable car talks, demand expropriation

Three property owners affected by the proposed cable car linking Canillo to l'Armiana have issued a formal statement through their lawyer, declaring negotiations with the Canillo communal council definitively closed since 30 April. The owners—Josep Casal Mandicó, Maria Carme Duedra Caminal, and Remei Rossa Rosell—refuse to sign any agreement allowing the cable car to overfly their land, despite modifications to the initial proposal.

In a document sent to the council, the lawyer expresses surprise at recent public comments from Canillo's first consul, Jordi Alcobé. Alcobé has suggested talks remain open or could resume, including remarks during a council meeting and a gathering with six other affected owners higher up the route. The owners insist the council knows no resumption is possible and that pressure tactics invoking general interest would be procedurally wrong. They state the only legal path forward requires a formal declaration of public interest for the cable car, followed by potential expropriation of overflight rights.

The owners argue their properties differ from others along the route, rejecting claims the infrastructure would add economic value. Some alternative sites lack access or lie in red avalanche zones, yet the council has pursued acquisitions there. Casal Mandicó, who runs Camping Casal—a family business operating for 65 years on the edge of Canillo—warns the cable car would cross above the site, mobile homes, and access road, devastating tourism reliant on natural scenery and tranquillity. At 78, he recalls starting the venture as a teenager when little existed nearby, and says it has withstood all development pressures. He clarifies opposition stems from preserving private property integrity, not rejecting cable cars or tourism projects outright.

Alcobé acknowledges all eight affected owners' consent is essential, as the current route minimises private land impact. Agreements are near with six, after which he plans to re-engage the holdouts, viewing it as a conceptual rather than financial issue. He highlights potential benefits, like 150,000 annual visitors tied to the nearby Tibetan bridge, and notes similar installations elsewhere enhance property values without opposition. No further meetings have occurred with the three objectors.