Ecologists calls on Council to re-open access to Cala Francés
Historical access to the cove has been closed and sealed with padlocks.
Thursday 21st January 2021 | PRESS RELEASE
EAMA Ecologistes Marina Alta have issued the following press release regarding the recent closure of the historic access to the secluded Cala Francés:
No matter how close we live to the sea, it seems that we always have our backs to it. Tired of this attitude, Segària-Ecologistas en Acción Marina Alta has today Thursday submitted a formal complaint to Xàbia Council for the closure of access to the Cala del Francés.
Through this complaint, an attempt is made to put an end to the privatizations that constantly affect land close to the maritime-terrestrial public domain. Xàbia Council has the right and the duty to eliminate any obstacle to access the use of the Cala del Francés. And not only to this, but to any other maritime-terrestrial public domain. The Council has to promote access to the cove publicly and free of charge and has to fight and ensure its conservation.
But you have to understand that to be able to freely use the Cala del Francés, it is necessary that you can simply access it. The same Coastal Law provides for the so-called rights of access to the sea. These rights prevent works or private facilities from preventing access to the sea. They determine that a person is not the exclusive user of all rights to the land of that near the sea. These rights are imposed on individuals in favour of the community. They respond to the idea of social function because we can all enjoy public goods, such as the sea.
Both the Coastal Law and the General Coastal Regulation make it clear that, if the works are carried out, the interested parties have to provide an alternative and comparable solution to access the cove. If the historical closure of the Cala del Francés is maintained, the only possibility left to access it would be either from the sea, or to negotiate along the foot of the cliffs from the adjacent cove – La Caleta. This solution is not at all similar to the way of going down to the cove that previous generations have been doing. We do not say all this on a whim, but because as the situation is currently, it is absolutely impossible to access the Cala del Francés on foot, saving the unevenness between the two coves.
The works carried out – that is, the placement of padlocks that have secured existing door – make it impossible to access the Cala del Francés. The environmental value of the coast, its richness and biological diversity are inherent to it. The coast and the sea are right and duty. Consequently, its protection is an attitude that both the public authorities and each one of us have to maintain.
