ISSUE NO. 1638
24 - 30 Nov 2016
COSTA BLANCA SOUTH
Stop Press
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
DON’T MISS OUR PROPERTY SUPPLEMENT INSIDE! PAGES 83 - 88
Time is running out
by Matthew Elliott Time is running out for Cala Mosca, the last green area of Orihuela Costa. New legislation protecting green space against property speculators comes into force in a year ’s time, but this piece of Costa Blanca coastline is not included in the law. Efforts by local activists to preserve the area from new housing development have continued for years culminating in a petition in 2010 which was signed by more than 7,000 people. This was presented to the European Parliament and helped stop the construction of 1,500 homes. But after years of deadlock the threat looms once again, although, thanks to the work of local political parties Cambiemos Orihuela and CLARO, which have British, Spanish, German and Norwegian members, the public are being granted the opportunity to have their say. Residents are being urged to demand that Cala Mosca re-
main a green area on a Spanish coastline already regarded as over-developed in many areas. The ultimate decision lies however, with the Valencian government. It has come under pressure to abide by PATIVEL, the acronym for a plan which aims to transform the so-called ‘predatory’ policies of the past 20 years into a philosophy based on protecting areas of the Costa Blanca coastline. But as noted by the Podemos MP for Alicante, Entonio Estan, Cala Mosca is not on the list of coastal hotspots which will be granted protected status under the plan. Activists fear this leaves the area at the mercy of political wheelers and dealers and high finance but they have pledged to put up a strong fight if development plans for the Alameda de Mar are given the green light.
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