PRESS RELEASE
Javea Department of Environment repairs the area of the Cala Blanca viewpoint
The area was degraded because the Council was unable to perform maintenance work due to a property dispute
Javea. Wednesday 21 December 2011.
The Department of Environment of Javea has finished the cleaning, maintenance and alteration works of the Cala Blanca viewpoint located in the footpath that runs along the length of the coastline in the direction of les Caletes. Doris Courcelles, the Councillor for the Environment, said that the state of degradation of the area was a result of a property-line dispute that had been drawn out for 10 years between the Town Hall and the owner of some adjacent plots of land. As a consequence of these legal battles, the normal maintenance work was not being carried out during this time period. However, now that the Council has been granted ownership of the footpath (though not of the adjacent land), they have started with the cleaning and are taking on all the postponed projects.
Courcelles said that the viewpoint is located in an area of, "spectacular scenic and environmental value," which is protected by the European Union due to the presence of a large number of endemic species. In fact, to carry out the renovation they have had to strictly abide to two regional decrees that regulate threatened floral conservation measures and control invasive alien species in the Valencian Community.
The work that has been completed include the renovation of 300 metres of path that lead to the viewpoint as well as the removal of about 40 square metres of concrete slab that had covered an old disused septic tank which was found to have been sealed and clogged. About 12 metres of tosca masonry wall was demolished, which was in a precarious state and partially collapsed, “due to the actions of the weather, landslides and the invasive plants.” A new wall has been built with selected local tosca stone which is 12 metres in length and about 80 centimetres in height and 30 in thickness.
In addition, a sewage pipe from two nearby houses has been replaced by a new culvert. The Department of Environment has also manually removed the invasive plants along the path, as well as installed steps constructed from railway sleepers to strengthen the slope. Wooden rails have been replaced and the concrete steps cleaned and repaired where necessary. The area had been landscaped with species native to the habitat. And to explain everything to the visitor, an appropriate sign has been installed as part of the network of "miradors" which was first inaugurated by the Town Hall in 1996 with the collaboration of the Valencian Agency of Tourism.
