When coastal development and conservation collide: Els Muntanyans,
Torredembarra
There are economic benefits and environmental
costs to coastal development which influence the success of the development
equation. Els Muntanyans on the Costa Dorada provides a case study where the
costs are perceived to outweigh the benefits and coastal development pressures
have been reduced by recent court action (February 2008).
Els Muntanyans, Torredembarra (February 2008)
Planning permission has been given for the
construction of 550 homes, parks and facilities covering 173,900 m² on the edge
of coastal marshland and dunes at Els Muntanyans in Torredembarra. The Els
Muntanyans beach is the last remaining large natural beach on the Catalan coast
between the Llobregat Delta to the south of Barcelona and the Ebro Delta.
The development, a second phase of construction at the site, designated Els
Muntanyans II, is located at the mouth of the Gibert torrent and covers the
biological corridor that connects the adjacent beach and Protected Natural Area
of Interest (PEIN), with the protected rural interior.
The Government Directorate General of Coasts recognised the importance of the
biological corridor in a 2001 report, which recommended the purchase of the land
together with the adjacent Muntanyans I site, and its incorporation into the PEIN
Plan. However, the Torredembarra Town Council through Pla Partial Platja de
Torredembarra 4b Muntanyans II, has promoted housing development in the area.
The housing at Els Muntanyans I is advertised as a good location for a second
home: 'Una segunda residencia diseñada con el confort de su primera residencia'
(a second home designed to be as comfortable as your main residence). The
development is now nearly completed and construction of Els Muntanyans II has
started (February 2008).
Promoter Els Muntanyans I: Grupo Plaza 14 and Torredembarra Town Council
Promoter Els Muntanyans II: Vegas Guadaira S.L. and Torredembarra Town Council
Locations of Muntanyans I and Muntanyans II
Els Muntanyans I - Nova Torredembarra - the first
construction phase.
Currently near completion (February 2008).
Els Muntanyans I - Nova Torredembarra Promoter's Model
The Els Muntanyans development has been opposed
on environmental and social grounds, and its impact includes a number of
external costs borne by society as a whole. The environmental and social costs
can be summarised as follows:
Environmental Costs
Loss of an area with high ecological value as representing the
continuity of natural space included in the Protection of Spaces of Natural
Interest (PEIN). The PEIN Plan (1992)
established new Natural Parks and selected a number of other natural areas that
link the Parks together to form a Green Ring around Barcelona. The Plan protects
biological corridors connecting the twelve most important natural areas thus
contributing to the preservation of wildlife diversity.
Elimination of the only remaining biological connector on the
coast of northern Tarragona linking the rural interior and coastline.
Possible alteration of the water dynamics in the protected
zone, caused by runoff from the urbanisation. The increase in freshwater input
to the system can unbalance soil salinity with subsequent modification of
existing vegetation.
Canalisation of the Gibert torrent (February 2008)
Canalisation of the Gibert torrent (August 2008)
The mouth of the Gibert torrent, Els Muntanyans - a soakaway
designed to disperse surface and storm water
The canalisation of the Gibert torrent may alter the supply of
fresh water to the coastal wetlands, resulting in a water deficit in some areas,
and a surplus in others. As the soakaway becomes blocked by sediment, a new lake
may form at the mouth of the canalised channel (see above image).
In the past, flood water from the Gibert torrent was able to
spread slowly across the Muntanyans II site and gradually infiltrate the soil.
The drainage channel was ill-defined, but canalisation now concentrates and
speeds the flow, directing it towards the main coastal rail link which lies a
short distance between the soakaway and the sea. In a worst-case flood
event, this rail link may be cut.
Increased population pressures will lead to erosion and loss of
biodiversity. The development lies just 50 metres from the protected zone and an
estimated 1,500 people a day will cross the area to access the beach during the
holiday season.
High Flood Risk
Flood at El Muntanyans (September 2005)
A study carried out by Risknat,
of the University of Barcelona, concluded that the El Muntanyans II is in a high
risk flood zone. Canalisation of the Torrent Gibert will not stop the flood risk
since the direction of the waters of Torrent Gibert "are uncontrollable and
the nature of the terrain directs them towards the planned housing
development".
The action group Salvem
Els Muntanyans (Save Els Muntanyans) and Greenpeace arranged a news
conference in September 2005 to present a video report showing Els Muntanyans II
completely flooded during storms that struck the Catalan coast earlier that
month.
Soakaways are a simple way of dispersing surface and storm water.
The two determining factors for soakaway success are the size of the area (or
volume of water) to be drained and the percolation rate of the soil/sub-soil or,
in some sites, the depth to the water table.
The water table is defined as the upper level of the groundwater that is
naturally held within the soil, sub-soil or bedrock. It is not uncommon for the
water table to rise during the wet months of winter and to fall during the drier
summer. In coastal sites and those in or adjacent to wetlands such as Els
Muntanyans, the water table is near the surface. In such cases, a soakaway may
not work and a lake may form after heavy rain.
The Gibert torrent soakaway at Els Muntanyans is formed of large angular
stone blocks, designed to slow water flow and encourage infiltration. Over time,
however, the soakaway will be filled with the deposition of fine sediment, the
surface will become vegetated and percolation rates will be greatly reduced.
Social costs
The Gibert torrent is categorised by the Catalan Government
Water Agency as of high flood risk, with significant damage likely to housing
and infrastructure during storm events.
An increased numbers of visitors to the El Muntanyans site will
reduce its recreational and leisure value as an oasis of wilderness on a very
crowded coast.
The Actors
Groups For
Company Vegas Guadaira S.L.
Torredembarra Town Council
At the end of January 2008, the Catalan Parliament approved
increasing the area protected under the PEIN plan at the Muntanyans II site in
Torredembarra. The Torredembarra Town Council has asked the promoter of
Muntanyans II to halt the works for three months.
A criminal complaint was lodged by a member of Salvem
Els Muntanyans against the mayor of Torredembarra, and his predecessor in
the post. Both mayors were accused of having allowed an urban project that could
destroy a wetland zone. The mayor of Torredembarra announced that he would
abstain in any future vote referring to Muntanyans II. In June 2008 a judge
dismissed the complaint on grounds of lack of evidence.
A complaint has now been lodged with the European Commission
and has been broadened to take account of the lack of required administrative
procedure in the canalisation of the Gibert torrent. The European Commission
plans to make a decision within a year.
In the meantime, the construction of roads, street lighting and
the laying of electricity lines to building plots has been completed.
The construction of roads,
street lighting and electricity lines has been completed
Background to conflicts along the Catalan coastline
Urbanisation is almost continuous along the entire 672
kilometres of Catalan coastline. Between 1981 and 2001, the construction of
houses along the coast grew at double the rate of population. The population
increased by 36%, whereas the number of houses increased by 60.5%. Half of the
houses are second homes, with the highest percentages in the Costa Dorada
(71.3%), and the Costa Brava (64.6%).
Saturation point has evidently been reached: there are now 75
coastal municipalities where practically 100% of the land is urbanised. In a
further 30, the figure is 75%. Catalonia has one yachting marina for every 10
kilometres of coastline - which rises to one every 5 kilometres in the Costa
Dorada.
The Spanish Government is finally fighting back against the
coastal concrete and its 'Strategy for Coastal Sustainability' (2007) aims to
buy up unoccupied coastal land, recategorise as protected areas land already
approved for construction, and demolish buildings and recreational ports that
occupy public beaches. The plan also demands the enforcement of an existing law
that requires the first 100 metres of shore be kept free of all construction.
All in all, the proposal is expected to cost €5 billion and to affect more
than 400 miles of coastline.
New legislation in Catalonia has established a system of
protection for non-urbanised land located within 500 metres of the sea in 50
coastal zones. This affects 23,500 hectares of coastline.
