Overview
- The Juzgado Central Contencioso-Administrativo No. 8 issued an order dated November 11 that inadmitted Palencia’s appeal against ADIF’s approval of the Palencia–Palencia Norte high-speed segment.
- The court upheld State Attorney arguments, finding that only the municipal Pleno could authorize the action under the LRBRL and that neither urgency nor later ratification by the Pleno was shown.
- The order does not address the project’s substantive compliance with prior studies and imposes no legal costs, and it can be appealed within fifteen days to the Audiencia Nacional.
- Urbanism councillor Álvaro Bilbao said the judge was wrong and confirmed the city will appeal, citing a report from the municipal Secretaría General backing the challenge.
- The contested work is the 14‑metre‑high ‘salto del carnero’ viaduct ADIF is building at Palencia’s northern exit, which the city argues conflicts with 2010 and 2018 rail-integration informative studies; ADIF had rejected a prior municipal request to annul the project on January 29, 2024, prompting a February 23 filing.