EVERYTHING has a price… including Spain’s last virgin beaches.
With over six million square metres of pristine coastline in Tarifa in line for urban development, a cabal of bankers and housing developers are rubbing their hands with glee.
All rubber stamped by the council, wait for the politicians to wax lyrical about all the jobs it will bring and how much it will clean up the coast.
Forget the millions of tourists who visit precisely because they want to enjoy it exactly how it is.
Meanwhile the price of the only seaside stretch of Los Alcornocales Natural Park, near Sotogrande, looks to be €120 million.
A princely sum it may seem, but not when you consider the unparalleled beauty and unique terrain of this green gem nestled in one of Spain’s most alluring corners.
Forget the 600 jobs the Borondo project will bring. The area will be irreversibly altered if it gets the green light and, when finished, if there are two dozen full time sustainable jobs we’d be surprised.
There is, of course, a need for more affordable housing in the area, but these developments are not for low-income families, they are for high end holiday homes and tourist retreats for wealthy jet-setters.
Perhaps even more concerning is the radio silence from other media outlets here for whom the destruction of such delicate green space is apparently a flippant issue.
It falls on all of us to battle the beady-eyed developers who see only euro signs when looking at the most precious natural landscapes in the country.
Our Hands off the Costas campaign launched two years ago could be set for a busy summer.