It seems the news is traveling. Now that the Gran Scala project has a little more meat on it's bones, the UK press has even picked up on it. The left leaning Guardian newspaper ran a piece on the 26th of February, which stood back from attacking the project outright but offered a strong hint of disdain none the less.

The newspaper made numerous points about the changes that the project would certainly have on the community and the moral values of the population.

Titled "Promise of riches threatens rural idyll as a new Vegas is planned in rural Spain" the article makes the dessert landscape of the region sound almost like a hidden paradise - it's almost a wonder that the "gently sloping fields, scrub scented with rosemary" don't have throngs of tourists heading there already to soak up the juice of life in this "idyllic setting"

Admittedly there is a reference to the "scrub and dusty arable land" that is probably a more accurate description of this particular part of Aragon. However the loss of old ways and values is a recurrent theme.

Will the ILD group be complaining though? The paper certainly makes them out to be the stereotypical business people playing with politicians and abusing locals in the pursuit of riches. But at least it makes them sound like a palpable force with real backers and real potential to see out the process - something that has been doubted along the way.

Moreover, it gives them what they want most of all - publicity. This is a project that is going nowhere if the backing doesn't come through, and in uncertain times that kind of financing isn't easy to come across. Pushing the news out there to the wider community can only help ILD attract more potential investors, who will be less interested in the bird song and more in the return on investment.

Meanwhile the rest of us in Spain continue to watch with raised eyebrows as Politicians once again make the law suit their needs in the pursuit of more construction projects. There are a lot of cranes here after all, and right now they need new things to be lifting. Unlike the spirits of the people in Ontiñena - with a few exceptions it certainly sounds like their spirits need no lifting at all. It remains to be seen whether they will remain so high in the long term though.

Clearly nothing will suit everyone. But if you're going to have a site for building a city sized den of iniquity (if that's indeed what it is), then quite possibly this one will have the least complaints.