Objections registered over Escalona campsite plan
Associations ask the town hall to consider an alternative location
ENVIRONMENTAL association Amigos de Sierra Escalona and a San Miguel de Salinas residents’ association have registered objections over the project to construct a campsite ‘resort’ near Torremendo and La Pedrera reservoir.
The associations stated that the scheme would stand in a Special Protection Area (SPA) for birds near the Sierra Escalona mountains.
They noted that the area is the principal zone for birds of prey in the south of Alicante province.
The land earmarked for the campsite is inside the boundary of the protection area which covers the Sierra Escalona, with natural park status still pending approval.
According to the associations, the draft protection plan for the Sierra Escalona states that campsites are permitted.
They also claimed that they have found irregularities in the administrative management procedure.
They claimed that the facility is supposed to be run as both a farm school and campsite, and pointed out that the activities are ‘hardly compatible’.
In their objections, the associations suggested that the facility should be built closer to Torremendo and outside the SPA to protect the fauna and boost the village’s economy.
They also ask the Orihuela council not to issue a building licence for the project on the planned site.
They claimed that the alternative locations proposed by the company are ‘a pantomime’.
The plans include a farm school with a hostel, an indoor and an outdoor swimming pool, a gym, social club, amenity area, 112 plots for caravans and motorhomes, 16 wooden bungalows and sports courts.
It has been earmarked for an area close to the CV-925 road near the junction with the CV951.