The Sitges Town Council has recently presented the proposal for the new ‘Use Plan’ for the town’s beaches, for the five years 2022-2026.
During a recent meeting of the Commission for the Promotion of Tourism, the local councillor for beaches, Guillem Escolà, officially explained the council’s intentions for the reorganisation of economic activity on the coast of Sitges. ‘This proposal is in line with promoting the quality, sustainability and the identity of Sitges on our beaches, guaranteeing services and adapting their location to the new reality of the coast,’ he said.
The plan has been presented to the main economic sectors concerned and, previously, to the board of the relevant groups represented in the council.
This year is the end of the ‘Use Plan 2017-2021’ and also the concession of beach services. The local council has therefore been working on the new plan which defines the occupation and distribution of public and private uses and services of the coast.
The ‘Use Plan’ is renewed every five years and this is the first time that a comprehensive adaptation of the uses has been proposed. The Mayor of Sitges, Aurora Carbonell, said: ‘The current context is an opportunity to build a model of beaches based on experience, yet at the same time facing the challenges of the climate emergency. We believe that this is the right time to opt for an environmentally friendly, modern and sustainable coastal model that goes beyond the quantity model and is committed to sustainability. Sitges has always been a leader and wants to be one again with a first-class coastline.’
The local government is working on a model which guarantees services on all beaches, yet modifies and regulates the employment and distribution of public and private services, with the application of ‘sustainable criteria that give value to the natural environment for its knowledge, use and preservation’.
The main change of the new ‘Use Plan’ is the modification of employment and the distribution of economic activity on the beaches. The council seeks to adapt the uses and services to the physical reality of the beaches, to increase in quality and provide solutions in relation to the effects of climate change.
The proposal provides for the use of parasols and sun-beds to be concentrated around the beach bar areas and not throughout the beach, and that these incorporate the service of toilets, which was not currently the case. ‘The aim is to achieve a rational use of beaches, which allows better conservation and maintenance of natural resources and the promotion of quality tourism,’ said Guillem Escolà.
The proposed new ‘Use Plan’ redistributes the location of some of the beach bars to enhance their service, protect the infrastructure from possible storms, and to offer a more unique image of the coast of Sitges.
The proposals also define the number of bars on each of the beaches, which are maintained except on the beach of Botigues which go from six to four; on L’Estanyol which go from three to one, and on the beaches of Garraf, La Ribera and Riera Xica, which go from two to one bar.
On the beaches of La Bassa Rodona and Els Grills, the new plan withdraws the beach bar concessions. In the case of the Bassa Rodona it is due to the consequences of the storms which has caused erosion in a large area of the beach, and in Els Grills it is due to the proximity to the mouth of the Riera de Ribes, a highly protected natural area.
Click here to see the full new five year ‘Use Plan’ proposed by the local council.
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