Chiringuitos and other beach, seafront businesses in La Herradura have been busy during August collecting signatures against the controversial new chiringuito.
The signatures will accompany a demand for the Junta de Andalucia to “stop overdeveloping its beaches,” starting with revoking the licence that it issued to a new chiringuito next to Dani’s nautical-activities beach office.
If you take a look at the new structure (which was put up virtually in one day) you will see that it encroaches on the area of beach rented by Dani’s from the Town Hall. This area is used for their equipment.
The Town Hall has sided with the local businesses who are against the chiringuito but unconfirmed reports (read: rumours) say that one of the two brothers behind it works in the Town Hall. This was mentioned by one of the business owners that we spoke to and appears to be a secreto a voces (an open secret) but which has not been substantiated.
Back to the content of the signature collection: “We are going through difficult moments because of the coronavirus. The summer is all but over, visitors are going home and we have no idea how we will manage this winter,” laments María García, who runs Dani’s, adding, “The [new] chiringuito is not in the same business as me but it is situated right beside us and the beach already has too many businesses located on it.”
We had an opportunity to have a long chat with María García around the middle of last month and she expressed her concern that customers at the chiringuito might sit amongst her beached craft to have a smoke, which is dangerous given the amount of petrol in the jetski tanks for example. Had the chiringuito been place at least a little further away, it would cause her less worry.
The Chairman of the Asociación de Chiringuitos de la Costa Tropical, Francisco Trujillo, is confident that the collected signatures will reach the Junta and be taken into consideration.
Readers who have been here for a while will remember back in the late 80s or early 90’s Costas weeded out several long-standing chiringuitos on the Almuñécar and La Herradura beaches as it was considered that there were too many. It was a very controversial move at the time yet here we are around 30 years later and La Herradura has seen at least three new ones sprout.
(News: Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)