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CostaBlancaPeople 24th June - 30th June 2025
24th June - 30th June 2025 - EDITION 1100
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Campsite planned for the Sierra Escalona slammed by environmentalists Plans to establish a campsite within the protected landscape of the Sierra Escalona and its surroundings have been slammed as ‘absurd´ by environmentalists. The site is planned for two kilometres from the town of Torremendo.
The developer has requested a Declaration of Community Interest from the regional government, the report of which was published recently in the Official Gazette of the Valencian Community, as a preliminary step to obtaining
an environmental permit. The project would be located on a non-developable land area of 33.6 hectares, with access from the CV-951, with capacity for 261 tents or motorhomes and 86 cabins on 347 plots. In total, 10.11 hectares would be left in their natural state and 13 hectares would be built, which represents 52% of the land. In response Friends of Sierra Escalona (ASE) and Friends of the Southern Wetlands of Alicante (AHSA) are now preparing “strong” objections to what they consider ‘yet another absurd project planned for Sierra Escalona’The Torrevieja developer Orishas Trust has designed cabins with 41.86 square metres
each, occupying a surface area of 3,600, plus an area of 23,743 square metres for camping tents or caravans, as well as a reception area, restaurant and supermarket. There would also be a sports and bathing area with a 1,800-meter swimming pool, two sports courts, three paddle tennis courts, one tennis court, changing rooms and a gym . The children’s area would occupy 29,444 square meters in its natural state, while 31,457 would be allocated to green areas, mainly along the CV 951 highway to act as a transition zone and visual barrier. Environmental groups maintain that the campsite is located within the protected
landscape, the Special Protection Zone for Birds (ZEPA) and the impact buffer zone provided for in the Natural Resources Management Plan for the Sierra Escalona and Dehesa de Campoamor, specifically in Zone II B, which is predominantly agricultural. It also encroaches on the affected basin of the catalogued wetland area of the Pedrera reservoir, next to which it is located. The Directorate General for the Natural Environment resolved in October that the “Camping in Torremendo” project may have effects on the Natura 2000 Network, and must therefore be subject to a detailed assessment of its impact on the Special Protection Area for Birds (ZEPA) of Sierra Escalona and Dehesa de Campoamor, where birds of prey such as the golden eagle, Bonelli’s eagle, peregrine falcon, short-toed eagle and eagle owl feed.