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The Balearic Government’s Department of Coastal Management and the Alaior City Council are carrying out material dumping and significant land movements on Cala en Porter beach. GOB has requested access to the favorable environmental reports, given that this is a highly protected area.
As recalled, heavy rainfall in mid-August caused severe flooding, including in the Cala en Porter ravine, where the torrent followed its natural path—straight through the beach. Much of the sand was carried into the sea, leaving a large flooded area.
Tourism pressures and the lack of environmental awareness from the involved administrations have resulted in extensive activity by heavy machinery. Several excavators and trucks are operating in the area. External rocks and soil have been dumped on the stream and the inner part of the beach, and a sand barrier is being built to separate the beach from the sea at its outer part (as can be appreciated in the attached photo report).
Given the scale of this intervention, GOB has written to public institutions, reminding them that they are working in a flood-prone area where the torrent naturally discharges. The site is classified as a Natural Area of Special Interest with a High Level of Protection. It is also part of the European-wide protected areas within the Natura 2000 Network, designated as both a Site of Community Importance (SCI) and a Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA).
GOB has requested clarification on whether the department responsible for Natura 2000 has issued any favorable report or compatibility declaration regarding these activities with the SCI and SPA designations affecting the area. If a favorable report exists, GOB requests a copy of the document.
Additionally, GOB has asked the Coastal Department, now under the Balearic Government’s jurisdiction, to halt the works if no prior favorable environmental report has been requested and to seek technical advice before proceeding in any further.
The Parking Lot Controversy: No Environmental Permit
The current works on the beach follow a previous controversy between the former owner of a nearby parking lot and the Alaior City Council. Everyone in Menorca can remember the operations involving the installation and removal of large stones last June.
At that time, GOB reminded the authorities that the parking lot is located in a flood-prone area (it flooded again after recent rains), on public land, within a protected area under the Natural Spaces Law, and within the Natura 2000 Network.
Responses from the relevant authorities confirmed that neither the City Council nor the Coastal Department requested any environmental impact assessment or a prior compatibility report.
The ongoing works on the beach are of much greater significance than the previous incident. It would be unacceptable for local or regional administrations to once again ignore environmental regulations and sacrifice protected areas for tourism, which, logically, should adapt to the natural reality of the beach.
