Implementation of the new strategy of deconstructing part of the promenades, renaturalizing the coastal strip and returning space to the beach to minimize the damage caused by maritime storms, which are increasingly frequent and devastating due to the climate crisis. Yesterday the excavators began to demolish part of the Mil·lenari square in Segur de Calafell (Baix Penedès), built at the beginning of this century (2002) on the sand of the beach to connect two sections of the promenade.
The sea storms, galloping thanks to the climate emergency, have put a square at risk of collapse that, given what has been seen, should not have been built. The rigid structure, intended as a viewpoint over the beach, ate up part of the sand and also favors erosion. The deconstruction is an emergency action promoted by the Ministry of Ecological Transition in agreement with the Calafell City Council.
The removal of part of the seafront will help the beach of Mas Mel, weakened by the force of the sea and the urbanization of the coast, recover part of the sand and gain width. The sandy beach has lost about a hundred meters in the last three decades in the coastal strip of Segur de Calafell most affected by regression.
“What really protects the infrastructure is the beach, it is a much more efficient defense than not having it, it is also a way to protect the houses by having an ecosystem in good condition like the beach,” highlights Aron Marcos, Councilor for Urban Ecology. The part of Plaza del Mil·lenari that will be demolished occupied an area of 800 square meters out of a total of 8,000 m².
What has begun to be done in Calafell is part of a global strategy with actions promoted by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition on the Costa Daurada together with the affected municipalities. The same Ministry has already warned that it will not spend more money or public resources to repair boardwalks, built in public maritime-terrestrial domain, damaged by storms.
La Pineda beach, in Vila-seca (Tarragonès), will be the next municipality to undo part of its promenade so that the sandy area gains width. The renaturalization in this case is of greater significance, with a retreat of the urbanized strip on the coast of twenty meters and an investment of ten million paid with European funds.
Nor will it be the last deconstruction action on the coastline of Segur de Calafell, with four kilometers of beaches, to adapt to the new scenario that has emerged with the climate emergency. In no case is the elimination of the entire promenade on the table, says the mayor of Urban Ecology, but it will be “redesigned so that the beach is more resilient; "We want to think 50 years ahead within the framework of a climate change scenario to which we have to adapt."
For now, he prefers not to specify any of the new proposed actions, out of caution. Dialogue with neighbors is also encouraged. “People prefer to have more of a beach than a promenade,” says the councilor. A philosophy that has little to do with that of the 80s and 90s, when many of the promenades on the Catalan coast were promoted, as is the case of the Costa Daurada. Urbanizing was synonymous with modernity and tourist attraction.
In one month of works, with a public expenditure of 80,000 euros paid by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, part of the cement will have disappeared from the Plaza del Mil·lenari, returning part of its natural space to the beach. The sea has already been scratching the foundations of the square in recent years and it was a matter of time before part of its structure gave way.
Nothing to do with the scenario of the early 90s, when it was necessary to walk a hundred meters, deep into the sand, to reach the sea. The beach was reinforced with a large contribution of sand in 1992, land that the Mediterranean and expansive urbanism have diminished. Under the tiles that began to be removed yesterday there is a beach.
