BFF-78 Urbanisation of Spain’s coast doubled in 30 years: Greenpeace

536

ZCZC

BFF-78

SPAIN-ENVIRONMENT-CONSTRUCTION-TOURISM

Urbanisation of Spain’s coast doubled in 30 years: Greenpeace

BARCELONA, July 24, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The amount of coastal land that has
been built on in Spain has more than doubled since the introduction of a law
in 1988 designed to limit development along its shores, Greenpeace said
Tuesday.

A property boom in the 1990s led to an explosion in holiday homes, hotels
and resorts, especially along Spain’s sunny eastern and southern coast, until
the market crashed in 2008.

During the boom, coastal laws were often flouted, with some local
governments turning a blind eye as new buildings cropped up in the world’s
second tourist destination after France.

Building along Spain’s coast has increased in recent years as the Spanish
economy has rebounded, said Pilar Marcos, who is in charge of biodiversity
issues at the Spanish branch of Greenpeace.

“Construction is returning. If it seemed that the Costa del Sol is
saturated, real estate firms are already selling 11,000 new homes in 200
projects,” she told a Barcelona news conference called to present a new
report on the state of Spain’s coastal areas.

As a result, the amount of Spain’s coastal land which has been built upon
has risen from 240,000 hectares (593,000 acres) in 1988 to 530,000 hectares
currently, according to the report.

“The occupation of the coast has been massive and this leaves a legacy of a
saturated coast,” Paloma Nuche, a Greenpeace representative in charge of
coastal issues, told the news conference held on a boat docked in Barcelona.

Spain’s Supreme Court has ordered that a symbol of this building excess —
the 21-story Azata del Sol complex on the Algarrobico beach in the Cabo de
Gata park in Almeria — should be torn down.

The Greenpeace report shows that 26.2 percent of the coast of the southern
province of Malaga on the Costa del Sol has already been built on.

In the glitzy resort of Marbella in the heart of the Costa del Sol, over 90
percent of the first 500 metres (1,650 feet) of coastline have already been
urbanised, according to Greenpeace.

Spain’s Mediterranean coastline is the worst affected area. In the
northeastern region of Catalonia, 26.4 percent of the coast has been built
on, while in Andalucia, which includes Malaga, the figure stands at 15.4
percent, the Greenpeace report said.

BSS/AFP/MRI/2323 hrs