COASTLINE ILLEGALLY BLOCKED TO PUBLIC

News

Sally Bengtsson / 2010-07-31 12:53:40

The gate and wall in front of Aguamarina was illegally erected by the Urb Bellavista 1

The Spanish law protects the country's coastline. And we have all heard about the Costas law not permit- ting buildings to be built less than 106 metres from the beach.

So under the 1988 Ley de Costas, the beach is considered to be public land, and from the waterline there should be 106 metres where sports and agricultural facilities can be placed, but not homes or permanent buildings. The idea is for the coastline to be a free area which everyone can walk, and relax and enjoy.

But anyone who has tried walking along Orihuela Costa will see that this is definitely not the case
here. The coastal walk is interrupted by a multitude of obstacles, causing the walker to either wade out into the sea, swim, clamber over fallen rocks or, in the worst case scenario, reroute.

Fallen rocks are a natural phenomenon, which can perhaps be excused, but when the coastal walk is blocked by an illegally then things don’t quite add up, especially when local residents and holiday makers alike have approached the Town Hall for answers, without receiving acknowledgement or reply.

As opposition party CLARO states, Blue flags and Q for quality beaches receive much attention and lend themselves to photo opportunities for Mayoress Monica Lorente, but she and her Popular Party Councillor responsible for the Coast should take a walk along the Orihuela Costa seaside and see some of the dangers and obstructions, which the flags conveniently ignore. A number of years ago the attractive seaside walk along the front of Aguamarina linked up with the Cabo Roig paseo which leads to the beach and continues right through to La Zenia.

For the past 15 years, the urbanisation Bellavista 1 has effectively privatised a vital section of that walk by first illegally erecting a gate, allowing just limited access, and then by building a wall, which completely cut the walk off. They have now even had the effrontery to decorate the unlawful wall with plants and flowers.
Despite many objections the council have allowed them to get away with their illegal actions.

The general public and in particular residents of Adeas de Aguamarina and Calas de Campoamor have been frustrated by this blocking off of public land which means that to access the beach at Cabo Roig (maybe 200 metres away) or the rest of the seaside walk to La Zenia, they are obliged to walk up to the N332 and then cross the main Cabo Roig urbanisation (an additional 2 kilometres).

The Town Hall are sitting on their hands and doing nothing despite a stream of denuncias. Perhaps the Councillor for the Coast will tell us why nothing is being done to resolve the situation?

The next recommended walk would be on the unfinished sections of the Paseo Maritimo between Cabo Roig and Playa Flamenca. Monica Lorente was pleased to be photographed on the eve of the 2007 elections opening the completed sections of this seaside walk which is a great asset to residents and visitors alike - if only it were finished.

The extensive unfinished sections have been the subject of expropriation procedures which began years ago, before Monica Lorente became Mayoress. She has kept very quiet about the inordinate time being taken to complete these procedures and to get work started on the many unfinished sections.

To resolve the situation land will have to be made available to provide a six metre wide path to go around the Hotel La Zenia. To walk around the hotel now is potentially very dangerous. And there are no warning signs.

On the Barranco Rubio beach in Campoamor, a serious rock fall took place in June. At first the fallen rocks were cordoned off by the local police because of the obvious danger of further falls.

The deep fissures visible in the cliff face are a sure sign that further falls could be imminent.

More than a month later, the police warning tapes have gone but nothing has been done to remove the rocks which make it almost impossible for people to enjoy the walk along the beach between Campoamor and Mil Palmeras.

Councillor José Antonio Aniorte explained last Wednesday that when the rock falls first occurred, on June 30th the area was cordoned off and all the necessary measures for safety were taken. Last Monday 26th July a second rock fall occurred.
Qualified Environment Technicians were promptly on the scene to evaluate the level of danger of the area.

However, Aniorte says that the situation is really the responsibility of Costas, and that he personally has notified them twice of the situation,and at the time of going to press he was still awaiting their promised visit.

In fact, the Town Hall say they have their hands tied, as they await for Costas to resolve the whole situation of the coastal walk. Costas should be the ones responsible for ordering the Bellavista Urbanisation to unblock the walkway. The trouble is they are busy threatening to pull down people’s homes while minor problems such as blocked coastal line get added on to a long waiting list.

Aniorte added that the Town Hall is investing a lot of money in the well-being of the coast, and listed a number of actions which have taken place recently; the bridges over the N332, street lighting, street signs, three bus stops, slopes on pavements for easy access for wheelchair users and the improvement of childrens parks.

The above article was produced in association with C.L.A.R.O.