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Santa Ana beach is among those where businesses are harmed.
Council in Benalmádena grows impatient and will use own money for beach breakwaters

Council in Benalmádena grows impatient and will use own money for beach breakwaters

Faced with storm damage every winter, the mayor wants work to start urgently off Las Gaviotas and Santa Ana beaches

Ivan Gelibter

Friday, 19 October 2018, 13:55

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A council has offered to use some of its own money to put in breakwaters to stop sand being eroded from popular tourist beaches, despite it not being its responsibility to build them.

The mayor of Benalmádena, Víctor Navas, wants to find a permanent solution to sand being swept away by expanding the offshore breakwater that protects the resort's Las Gaviotas beach by 80 metres. In addition he wants a new breakwater to shelter nearby Santa Ana beach.

Navas said, "Over the last few winters, that part of the coast has been the most affected [by storms], causing considerable damage to businesses on the beaches and pushing water onto the promenade."

At a meeting with central government in Madrid last week, council representatives proposed that Benalmádena town hall put up some of the money to get the breakwater scheme moving. Madrid is normally responsible for coastal defences.

The mayor explained, "At the meeting, we at the town hall promised to draw up an agreement to cofinance the work, with the aim of speeding up their creation because of the urgency of the problem."

Central government said back in January that it was preparing to go ahead with the construction, however the council feels it can be done faster with its financial help. The work to expand the Las Gaviotas breakwater alone was estimated to be 500,000 euros and the council plans to use a budget surplus to help fund the work.

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