The "Save the Valley" platform has called a demonstration next Sunday, February 18 at 11 a.m. in the town of Llíber, a town of less than a thousand inhabitants in the region of Marina Alta, to demand the cancellation of the project urban planning PAI Medina, which foresees the construction of about 500 houses in the Vall de Pop, a natural space near Lliber and other localities such as Senija, Benissa or Castell de Castells.
In the manifesto that accompanies its call, the platform denounces that this plan was approved at the time with an outdated environmental declaration, more than ten years ago, and considers that the plan is part of a rebound in a development model in the area. urban planning inappropriate for the times.
But opponents of the project specify their reservations about it in a series of points that are set out below. Firstly, they consider that the developer “takes advantage of an Environmental Impact Statement from more than 10 years ago with an Environmental Impact Study that did not comply with the regulations of the moment”, so they are considering taking legal action.
The planned PAI is located in the heart of the “Landscape of Regional Relevance from Gallinera to Castell de Castells”, an area regulated by the framework of the Territorial Strategy of the Valencian Country. Salvem La Vall believes that the PAI, distanced from the urban center of Llíber, “comes into conflict with the principles of the ETCV-2011, which since 2016 have established clear guidelines for landscape and urban integration.”
The organizers believe that the construction of 488 chalets in Monte Largo “represents a whole list of unsustainable and irreversible impacts.” Among them, they point out the loss of biodiversity and fragmentation of natural spaces, the alteration of hydrological cycles, changes in natural landscapes and loss of cultural heritage.
Furthermore, they argue that the “increase in urban density will cause an increase in air pollution, both due to the greater influx of vehicles and the increase in noise pollution.
They assure that “urbanization will cause soil compaction and the loss of the fertile layer, increasing erosion and affecting the health of the soil itself. In addition, it will generate the irreversible loss of land that will be occupied indefinitely by the construction of permanent infrastructure.”
They warn against the increased risk of forest fires and water scarcity, in a region “with a structural and chronic water problem due to the overexploitation of aquifers for tourist uses.” In the opinion of Salvem La Vall, “under these conditions, building 488 chalets in the town of Llíber is condemning the Pop Valley to water collapse, is continuing to turn our backs on scientific evidence and is condemning the inhabitants to lack of water.” and their disproportionate bills.”
The group questions the economic basis behind this urban development; In his opinion, “the imposition since the 1960s of residential tourism as a model of economic growth has made our region the most impoverished in the Valencian Country and with the most expensive housing.” And it offers data: "since 2014, the Marina Alta has had the highest poverty rate, 40.9% compared to 31.8% in the province of Alicante."
In the opinion of the organizers, the massive construction of housing for tourists has had a multiplying effect on poverty. "Promoting an economy based on the export of services and resources to other European citizens with a per capita income much higher than ours has only increased the prices of consumer goods, including housing, both rented and owned." , making them inaccessible to a large part of the native population,” they say.
Finally, Salvem La Vall aims to “protect local culture and avoid linguistic and cultural substitution.” In Llíber, the native population today represents around 35% of the total, “as a consequence of the construction of housing scattered throughout the area.” If the 488 houses proposed by the PAI Medina are now built, with an estimate of 2.5 people per home, the population increase would be 1,220 inhabitants. That is, Llíber would go from the current 1,000 inhabitants to 2,220 and the original population would be reduced to 15% of the total, “with the almost inevitable consequence of a disintegration and irreparable loss of identity,” they conclude.
