Senate votes to end ‘unique’ coastal homes being classified as being on public domain land in Spain BUT decision could be overturned

SPAIN’S upper house of parliament, the Senate, has passed an amendment to the Coastal Law to protect the ‘unique homes’ on the coast.

The measure was approved by the Partido Popular(PP) who hold the majority in the Senate, but the matter will return to the lower Congress of Deputies- led by the PSOE-Sumar government which is expected to veto the move.

The Coastal Law amendment would guarantee, according to the PP, ‘legal protection to the tens of thousands of people who, having legal homes on the coast for many decades, now see their properties threatened by new demarcations of public domain’.

There have been many such cases in the Valencian Community in the last year including in municipalities such as Torre de la Sal, Cabanes, Moncofa, Gandia, Denia, Pucol, Bellreguard and Tavernes de la Valldigna.

The Senate’s amendment means that the Coastal Law will incorporate an appendix to take into account the ethnological, singular and heritage ‘value’ of coastal homes.

Town halls that have such properties of ‘value’ must report them to each region so that the homes will be protected and the Coastal Authority- knowns as the Costas-informed.

Once those measures have been taken, the designated areas would no longer fall under the maritime-terrestrial public domain.

SomosMediterrania is a group made up of residents from across the Valencian region fighting against their homes being reclassified as being on public domain land and arguing for positive environmental action.

They’ve welcomed the Senate move as a first step to drafting a completely new Coastal Law.

They are supporting the principle that ‘polluters pay’ and to preserve ‘territorial heritage’ in a sustainable way and protecting citizens rights to avoid being defenceless legally under the current legislation.

A spokesperson added that there’s a ‘need for new planning aligned with the European Parliament Guidelines’ and ‘sustainable management of sediments retained in ports and reservoirs to avoid the destruction of coastal ecosystems and the subsidence of deltas and beach sandbanks’.

READ MORE:

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