Salt and mud on the menu
Health resort bid for old salt industry complex
TORREVIEJA town hall has given more details on its proposal to turn disused buildings at the salt works into a spa resort.
Mayor Eduardo Dolón presented the project at the town’s Virgen del Carmen cultural centre on Monday.
He said the principal goal of the scheme is to ‘position the salt works’ as a health tourism facility, while ‘protecting and preserving’ the historic complex.
A salt hydrotherapy centre would be set up around the old decanting pools used by the industry, which the council assures could be used as a ‘bathing zone in salt water, as well as a mud therapy area’.
The plans also include the creation of an interpretation centre ‘which will allow us to tell the world about the salt extraction process’ from Torrevieja lake and what it is used for, as well as setting up a museum. There will also be ‘spaces for investigation about products linked to salt’ and the lake mud.
One of the buildings is due
to be turned into the artisan salt school (Escuela de Artesanía Salinera) which is designed to ‘keep alive the tradition of making salt boats’.
The council has said the project would be ‘absolutely respectful’ of the environment and ‘totally integrated’ into the traditional setting.
A spokesman added that the scheme would solve the problem of people bathing in the salt lake in an unregulated manner – a practice which is prohibited by the regional government and which can incur a fine of up to €600.
They would get round the ban by converting the old industry pools into bathing zones, according to the spokesman.
Sr Dolón said they are still working on the plans with the company which operates the salt works, Salins, in order to ‘establish the legal structure’ to take the project forward.
He recognised that the scheme will need permission from ‘pertinent administrations’.
This will be processed while the final project is being drawn up.