National
Radical new plan to save the Spanish coastline
By h.b. - Oct 29, 2007 - 8:32 AM
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El País newspaper today has a long report on Government plans to free 776 kilometres of the Mediterranean coastline from buildings.
Such a plan, to reinforce the coastal law introduced in 1988 is estimated to have a cost of 5 billion €.
The paper mentions some of the current irregularities – a 24 story hotel still under construction in Calpe despite being partially built on land protected under the 1988 law.
500 families see their illegal humble homes on the beach in Adra, Almería, under threat also from an advancing sea.
Two towers planned on public land in Benidorm, and a development on reclaimed land in La Manga del Mar Menor.
Under the 1988 Ley de Costas, the beach is considered to be public land. Behind the top of the waterline there should be 106 metres more of protected land where sports and agricultural facilities can be placed, but not homes.
But now, nearly 20 years after the law was introduced, the Ministry for the Environment says it is taking action to correct the previous irregularities.
The Ministry is meeting with the regional governments across the country on Wednesday this week when they will offer them a new plan to not only stop fresh developments but also agree on the demolition of current houses, and hotels built in the public area of the beach.
The Ministry understands that such a plan can only proceed with the agreement of both the regional governments and local town halls.
Secretary General for Biodiversity and Territory from the Environment Ministry, Antonio Serrano, has described it as ‘a radical change in the coastal policy’. The Baleares and Canaries are also included in the plans.
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