Association denounces damage to Marbella beaches due to sand removal

Espigones Emergidos demands stabilisation infrastructure for the coastline and plans demonstrations at the government office in Malaga

María Albarral

Marbella

Friday, 14 February 2025, 12:11

The association Espigones Emergidos Para Marbella gathered on the city's El Cable beach on Wednesday 12 February to denounce "the damage that the sand removal work is causing to the coast".

The president of the organisation, Miguel Lima, said, "The greatest damage is in Cabopino and El Cable, especially the latter, as the beach has been left bare and full of stones."

"Until a few days ago this beach was great for adults and children because of its fine sand and accessibility, but now it is impassable," he stated.

According to the organisation, residents of the area of another beach - La Fontanilla - are complaining about the methods used in the work. "Since the end of January, the activity of lorries circulating from 8am to 6pm has caused significant inconvenience to both residents and hotels. The lack of signage indicating the beginning and end of the works, together with the lack of a budget, aggravates the situation," said members of the organisation.

Espigones Emergidos also criticised the timing of the works. "It makes no sense to do this during the winter. As soon as a storm comes, the sand is washed away. The logical thing is to do it later. As we know from previous occasions, when it is done in March and April, it only takes a few days," said Lima, adding, "If the breakwaters were already built, this work would be unnecessary."

This is not the first time that residents have complained about the state of the Marbella coastline. Last year, the delivery of reddish, mud-like sand to San Pedro Alcántara also caused a great stir among residents.

As associations and professionals from the hospitality industry have stated before, the main problem is that there is less and less beach area, which directly affects tourists as well as the industry itself. It should be noted that tourism is consolidating as the town's main industry, with the coast being the fundamental business card.

Protests

The Asociación de Espigones Emergidos Para Marbella announced this week that it will demand the development of infrastructure to stabilise the coastline, with demonstrations at the government office in Malaga. "Faced with these problems, we consider it essential to hold protests against the ineffectiveness of the current solutions. Our aim is to make the problem visible and put pressure on the authorities to take concrete measures and guarantee sustainable management of our coastal resources and a quality environment for residents and visitors," said Lima.

"We make an urgent call for action, dialogue and collaboration between all parties involved," he stated. Lima informed that they have been waiting for a response from the Ministry for Ecological Transition (Miteco) since 15 October 2024 in regard to "the environmental impact reports necessary to speed up the stabilisation of the beaches of Marbella and San Pedro Alcántara and to carry out the necessary sustainability and environmental protection measures".

Shoreline stabilisation

The project proposed by the general directorate for the coast and sea for Marbella's coastline plans to ensure the quality of the city's beaches. The project is divided into two actions. It would involve an abundant supply of sand, estimated at some 400,000 cubic metres of material, which will be extracted from the Serranía de Ronda, specifically from the unprotected area of Genal river.

The first part focuses on the regeneration of the coastline between Venus Beach and El Ancón Point, with the aim to restore and stabilise Marbella’s central beaches. This will involve depositing approximately 200,000 cubic metres of sand and constructing two free-standing breakwaters, each around 200 metres long, positioned about 145 metres off the coast between the marina and El Ancón point.

Due to the detection of Patellaferruginea - a protected species - the work along area from the west of the fishing port to the marina will consist only of sand and re-profiling of the existing beaches, without demolishing existing breakwaters or new maritime work. The tender budget amounts to 8.5 million euros and has a completion period of 8 months.

On the other hand, there is the remodelling of the coastline between the estuaries of the rivers Guadalmina and Guadaiza, in San Pedro Alcántara. The work consists of regeneration through the construction of a system of five breakwaters between 100 and 200 metres in length, in a position perpendicular to the beach; the elimination of 5,000 cubic metres of boulders in the area located next to the estuary of Guadaiza river; and the contribution of some 200,000 cubic metres of sand along the entire beachfront. The budget is 7.4 million euros and the execution period is 9 months. The two parts of the project add up to almost 16 million euros.

The project concerning the construction of a breakwater at La Venus beach has been rejected by Costas.

According to the state administration, the project will be put out to tender in 2025.

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