The Mayor of Motril, Luisa García Chamorro, expressed her concern today over the work stoppage on the Playa Granada groyne, or breakwater, if you prefer.
Although work on the structure is at a standstill, sand-hauling work continues, because the problem is that there is a lack of large boulders (5-tonne ones) which are needed at this stage.
All the rocks and boulders used in this project come from the controversial Santa Teresa Quarry in Lobres, where blasting and the constant transit of large, dumper lorries has the villagers up in arms, understandable.
There is also the question of whether the quarry, run by Gestisur Andalucía SL is actually legal; i.e., whether a valid operation licence exists.
To understand all this fully, you have to take into account the political vying taking place: the beach defences are funded and run by a socialist Central Government. Motril and the Junta de Andalucía are run by the PP (conservative) politicians and Salobreña (under which Lobres falls) by a socialist mayor.
The Mayor of Motril is spitting feathers because her pledge to have the beach ‘spick and span’ by summer would be put into jeopardy if this ‘pause’ is elongate and you can bet that the blame will be thrown at the door of the Central Government.
On the other hand, the socialist Mayor of Salobreña looks the other way and whistles under the constant bombardment of complaints from locals in Lobres over the completely unacceptable proximity of the quarry to the village school, etc.
The Central Government, under the Pedro Sánchez administration, is under pressure from the Catalans, who want more and more concessions from Madrid in order to back the Spanish Budget votation. The PM’s wife is under judicial investigation and this year marks the 50th anniversary of Franco’s death, which they are making a meal of, perhaps, as a calculated distraction from its mounting problems.
In other words; Motril’s new beach defences are not exactly at the top of their “things-to-do-today list.”
Talking of distractions, the Mayor of Motril badly needs the groyne finished as a distraction from the Three Kings Parade turning out four or five times more expensive than normal, or the suppurating conflicts with the municipal cleaning service and the municipal police, neither of which entities had her on their Christmas card list, let’s say…
(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)
Keywords: Playa Granada, Lobres, Quarry, Boulders, Work Stoppage, Mayor, Salobreña, Central Government, Catalans, PM’s Wife
news, andalucia, granada, costa tropical, motril, playa granada, lobres, quarry, boulders, work stoppage, mayor, salobreña, central government, catalans, pm’s wife