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Environmentalists criticise plans to build a five-star hotel next to Malaga sand dunes
The new luxury hotel complex will be built on the Playa Real de Zaragoza dunes in Marbella
Plans for a 350 million euro five-star complex are in place near the Playa Real de Zaragoza dunes on the Costa del Sol, and many environmentalists are up in arms about the destruction it will cause to the live ecosystem.
Local green group, Ecologistas Malaka, have stated that the dunes are a vital ecosystem that must be protected and therefore any building work would only ruin the existing life in the dunes.
The investment group behind the project, Platinum Estates, claim they want to protect the dunes also, and yet many cannot see how building a resort next to an ecosystem would do anything but damage the life there.
Much of the coastline in Marbella is urbanised to varying degrees. Around 90% in total has been built upon and only a small number of areas have not had some degree of development placed upon them.
“You can’t pick and choose which bits of the ecosystem you take away, it’s a whole living thing,” spokesperson and environmentalist Javier de Luis states.
“This is one of the few plots of coastal land in Marbella that hasn’t been built on, it’s a miracle it has survived this long,” he continues.
Finally, Luis states that “This area is currently designated as a public area under town plans, so the ayuntamiento wants to make it private so they can profit. They say they will protect the dunes, but this will damage them forever. What they should do is clean them up so locals can go there.”
The Hong Kong based Platinum Estates have attempted to persuade green activists of the good that the complex will bring by stating that the firm will build a park on a nearby wasteland.
Spokesperson for Platinum Estates stated: “We will respect the dunes, that has been on our mind since we bought the land. We don’t just want to respect it but regenerate and clean it. It’s the best beachfront in Marbella precisely because it’s a dune. We’re going to clean it and have a Cadiz style beach but without the wind.”
Many environmentalists see this action as being completely unnecessary as they believe the dunes should be for public use and therefore there should be no need for the development.
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Image : Turismo Marbella
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