Mus believes Babilonia beach “won’t be any better because the houses aren’t there”

Vicente Martínez Mus, Regional Minister of Environment, Infrastructure, and Territory, expressed sadness on Monday as the time for residents of Babilonia beach in Guardamar del Segura (Alicante) to voluntarily dismantle their homes expired. “There will be no better beach since those houses do not exist. Guardamar’s seashore isn’t better since it doesn’t exist,” he claimed.

Martínez Mus spoke to the media during his visit to the València Sud Metrovalencia facilities to assess the damage and promote the “Mobility Week” and “Car-Free Day” programs.

The minister stated that the Generalitat “has tried and is still trying to help the residents,” who “have been there for a long time.” “The Generalitat, to the extent possible, will do so. “The residents know they can count on us,” he said.

“We’ve been working with the beach community since the beginning. We have done everything we can to date and will continue to do so. However, as you are aware, today is the deadline for residents to voluntarily demolish their homes. I’m not sure if any locals will cave in to that pressure because the threat is that if they don’t, the administration will,” he said.

According to him, residents’ “fight” stems from a sectarian view of the interaction between humans and the water. He additionally made the point that “it remains to be seen what the effect of Babilonia Beach will be without these buildings, if the beach will be lost completely” : “I fear it could be a lot of that.”

“We at the Generalitat will always do everything in our power because we understand that these types of buildings are perfectly compatible with our coast and, more importantly, they enhance our coastline, creating a landscape and an image of our coastline that we believe in and want to continue,” he emphasised, adding that the regional government “never” considers demolishing these houses. “We think it’s outrageous,” he said.

The minister regretted that “it seems he is not succeeding” in getting the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco) to “cease its efforts to demolish and dispossess all these residents.”

In this regard, he emphasised that “today is a very sad day” and added that “unfortunately, this type of situation has already happened before in history with governments of this kind.” “I hope it never happens again,” he said.

MITECO Communication

When asked if the Generalitat had received any communication from the Ministry of the Interior (Miteco), the minister responded that “at this time, no communication has been received.” “I don’t know how the morning will end, but it doesn’t look good,” he complained.

Martínez Mus emphasised that residents had until today to dismantle their dwellings willingly. Otherwise, they may face forced demolition or daily fines. “They have no guarantee that this will not happen. Right now, it is possible that the machine will arrive tomorrow and demolish them without their agreement,” he emphasised.

When asked if the Generalitat intends to use “any additional tools throughout the day to prevent this scenario,” he stated that “it has used all the tools it had: the direct political request to the Ministry, the formal request, the evaluation files as an urban centre of special ethnological value, etc.”

“Every resource accessible to the Generalitat has been used for days, weeks, or even months. “We have nothing left because we don’t have any more resources,” he repeated.

Martínez Mus criticised the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MITECO) and Sara Aagesen, Third Vice President and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, for failing to visit the Valencian Community for months.

“These are families who will lose their houses, and they are the third generation. Babilonia Beach will not be a better beach because those residences do not exist. Guardamar isn’t a better coast since it doesn’t exist,” he stated.

Author: Derek Appleton