Tortoise plan moves at a snail’s pace

CUEVAS DEL ALMANZORA learnt with dismay last June some homes and land could be compulsorily purchased.

The ministry of Public Works planned to turn 500 hectares outside Cuevas de Almanzora into a tortoise reserve, affecting several properties.

The tortoises’ natural habitat will be invaded once the Murcia- Almeria AVE high speed railway is completed and this was the government’s solution.

Bedar’s Casa de La Tortuga occupies a 17,000-square metre plot and includes a veterinary unit, store and reception area and cost €617,195.

However, Casa de la Tortuga still lies empty and unused, and it is now October.