Uri voters clear path for hotel and marina complex in central Switzerland
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening:
Uri voters clear path for hotel and marina complex in central Switzerland
Voters in canton Uri in central Switzerland have rejected a Green Party initiative aimed at regulating the development of the lakeside site in Isleten to prioritise nature conservation and sustainable use. The proposal was rejected by 66.42% of voters, with a turnout of 52.8%.
The Green Party had suggested alternative projects such as a small holiday village, youth hostel or campsite, but these proposals failed to gain support.
Scaled-back development plans
Egyptian investor Samih Sawiris, who transformed the Swiss mountain village of Andermatt into a luxury winter sports resort, plans to build a 50-room hotel in Isleten. The project also includes 30 hotel apartments (three to four stars), 70 rental flats, seven bungalows and a small marina. The original plans were downsized before being presented.
Economic and autonomy concerns
The cantonal government and parliament opposed the Green initiative, citing its neglect of economic, tourism and regional policy interests. Additionally, the initiative proposed regulating the site at the cantonal level rather than leaving decisions to the local communities of Seedorf and Isenthal, which the government deemed an unprecedented infringement on communal autonomy.
In an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) newspaper, Sawiris suggested that if the initiative had passed, he would have considered purchasing the land for private use rather than public development.
Campaign appeal pending
During the campaign, the initiative committee filed an appeal against the canton’s voting brochure, claiming the explanations provided were biased. The cantonal government rejected the claims and forwarded the appeal to the Swiss Federal Court for review.
Translated from French using DeepL/amva/sb
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.