News about El Clot

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Sergio Arroyo Morcillo, from Spanish local bird organisation Amigos de los Humedales de Sur de Alicante (AHSA) has sent news about the continued protection of the Clot, an area which at one time seemed threatened by development plans. This is a Google translation (so not totally clear) from the AHSA Website:-

In December 2012 the City of Elche public exhibition presented the Special Protection Plan for the Clot de Galvany, legislation developed under the Law 11/94 of Protected Natural Areas of Valencia. This plan had among other objectives “restore, protect, conserve and enhance natural assets” of the place. However, according to the Association of Friends of Wetlands of Southern Alicante (SAHA) there were plans to try to reclassify nearly 300,000 m2 and enable the construction of bars, snack bars, beach bars, restaurants, facilities for water sports, sports, health centers or tourist camps, with a minimum plot of 5,000 m2, in addition to urban development of residential properties. The association warned that the re-zoning of land and the provisions contained in the plan, which allowed for the construction of new buildings, were incompatible with effective conservation and protection of natural and landscape assets. These impacts would be even more serious in the case of a natural space such as El Clot, which is already ractically under siege territorially by the urban environment.


In January 2013, SAHA made claims against the approval of the Special Plan considering that the regulations developed in Title 5 laying down specific rules were established and with them the uses permitted within the scope of this Special Plan on the grounds qualified with key 51 (No common general developable) and 52 (No common developable reserve) was contrary to the objectives of that plan.

The Directorate General of the Environment and Environmental Assessment, in a resolution adopted on 9 February 2016, took the view that the changes to the rating are not developable nor justified, nor is it appropriate to include in a plan aimed at protecting a municipal natural area. Furthermore it did not consider it correct to define it in the special plan contemplated in Decree 109/1998 by which the declaration of municipal natural areas is regulated.

The conservationist group expressed it’s satisfaction with the decision of the Ministry of Environment, which has been firm in implementing legislation and the effective protection of environmental law. In contrast to the old municipal government of Elche, which sought to use environmental legislation to promote urban changes which if approved would have caused a significant deterioration of the natural environment in the Clot de Galvany, in exchange for favouring private interests .

To read the text in Spanish on the AHSA Website follow this link – AHSA Webpages about El Clot

Click on this link for AHSA Recent sightings and photos