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Murcia’s coastal authority and the Ministry for Ecological Transition is refusing to foot the bill for repairing San Javier’s beaches after DANA Alice, according to mayor José Miguel Luengo, who said the authorities are showing nothing but “indifference” and “contempt for the residents of San Javier.”

 

Mr Luengo wants the regional government to assume responsibility for recovering the municipality’s beaches, which were churned up and covered in debris during the wind, rain and swells that hit last month.

 

On November 14, the mayor met with the Councillor for Beaches, Estíbaliz Masegosa, and the Councillor for Urban Planning and Environment, to discuss the state of San Javier’s shorelines. Both representatives categorically stated that they would not be carrying out any repairs.

 

Mayor Luengo called this decision “a true affront to the residents of the municipality.”

 

“At a time when citizens most need collaboration between government bodies, the State Coastal Authority has proven to be a useless institution for the Region of Murcia,” he added.

 

Their refusal does seem to fly in the face of the regional government’s earlier commitment to support the towns affected by the DANA. And the resources are there to tidy up San Javier’s beaches, since the authorities maintain a team of one hundred people on weekdays and twenty on weekends for the removal of biomass. They have already extracted more than 1,500 tonnes following the storm, in addition to the 400 personnel who have been working on the recovery of the area from the very first minute.

 

San Javier Town Council has already repaired the areas that were least affected by the recent damage, but attention will now have to turn to the sections that have been completely devastated. The Council is committed to carrying out the necessary restoration work, although the mayor reiterated that these areas fall outside its jurisdiction.

 

The council’s legal department has prepared an initial report confirming that beach restoration is not the municipality’s responsibility. As a result, any work would require explicit authorisation from the Coastal Authority to ensure the Council has the necessary permits. At the same time, San Javier Council plans to take legal action against the Ministry for Ecological Transition, seeking reimbursement for the costs it may incur while undertaking work that is not legally its responsibility.

 

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