The controversy continues around the removal of sand from the beach in the district of Elche to fill in the surface of the area occupied by the old Arenales del Sol hotel, which has been demolished, and whose plot is currently being regenerated in order to recover it for the coastal area.
Around 4,500 cubic metres of sand have been extracted from the El Altet beach and the technicians of the General Directorate of Coasts, which is the one that executes the action, have stressed that the environmental impact on that area of the coast is minimal, It is estimated that the sand blanket of El Altet beach will recover its usual appearance in a few weeks, facing summer in the conditions it has always been.
However, residents of the coastal district of Elche do not rule out the possibility of taking the action to court. In this sense, members of El Altet Decide, a political formation that promotes the segregation of Elche from the hamlet, have asked the Elche city council for the reports that the Elche city council’s Environment Department has issued regarding the action with the aim of once received and analysed assessing putting the matter in the hands of the courts.
The political formation has addressed the environment section of the Prosecutor’s Office requesting that an investigation be opened into the action that has been carried out.
From El Altet Decides it is defended that the removal of sand from El Altet beach contravenes the Coastal Law, the Territorial Action Plan for the Green Infrastructure of the Coast (PATIVEL), the regional law for the protection of heritage that protects the archaeological site catalogued a few metres from the affected area and the protection given to that area with the expansion of the Clot de Galvany municipal natural area.
From the City Council of Elche, Esther Díez, Councillor for the Environment, insisted that the action is carried out in accordance with the law and has stressed that, as the technicians of the Coastal General Directorate have stated, El Altet beach has been extracted less than 1% of the total sand that the whole of that coastal area has. She has also explained that the work has been brought forward to avoid affecting the Kentish Plover ‘s nesting season.
