A hundred families residing in these unique beachfront properties continue to wait for the courts to respond to their request to repair both the houses and the access roads and pathways to them, and as such the owners of the homes on Guardamar’s la playa de Babilonia, are now on the verge of one more summer.
As they struggle against all odds to survive, not least of which is the advancing tide, their goal is quite simple really, they have demanded an administrative concession on their houses, that were built in the public domain almost 90 years ago, in 1929, for, at least, 70 more years,
The nearly one hundred affected families, all members of the Neighbourhood Association of Guardamar Playa, consider that they are well within their rights to challenge the Coastal Law of 2013 and are mobilised, “in order to defend our rights”, according to the secretary of the collective, the lawyer Manuel López.
They have been working even harder since July of 2018, when the concession of most properties came to an end. Lawyer Lopez, suspects that Costas is delaying their decision while they wait for new legal changes of the Coastal Law, which would mean a denial of the request. Even so, those who are most likely to be affected look to the future with hope. “On June 12 we will get the answer,” says the secretary of the Neighbourhood Beach Babilonia Association.
With this extension they have also demanded that the administration will allow them to repair their houses, replace the public walkways and pavements, regenerate the beach and introduce a study into the possible modification of the breakwater at the mouth of the Segura, the construction of which is blamed for the change of marine dynamics that now puts their properties in jeopardy.
Those affected reproach the local socialist government which they say has been a mere spectator in the conflict: “They have washed their hands. They only opted to close the beach partially in September 2015 and this black hole has not been resolved by Guardamar council. There have been four years without progress. “
Esquerra Unida believes that this is a “cross-cutting issue of enormous importance for all our people because of the socio-economic and environmental consequences we face”. Its election candidate, Guzmán Fernández, stresses the need for “urgent actions, well considered and planned for the common good of Guardamar, should be put to the Costas by the entire corporation and not only by the government team.”
