FEARS are growing for the state of the Costa del Sol coastline ahead of the lucrative summer season following a series of devastating winter storms.
The recent extreme weather has caused a significant reduction in sand alongside severe damage to beach access points and public infrastructure.
It has prompted urgent demands for the central government in Madrid to implement a permanent structural solution for the Malaga coastline.
The worst-hit municipalities include Marbella, Estepona, Nerja, Mijas, Torremolinos, Casares, Rincon de la Victoria and Torrox.
In Mijas, the situation is particularly alarming with the high season fast approaching.
Juan Carlos Cuevas, the first deputy mayor of Mijas, warned that local councils are unfairly bearing the brunt of the crisis.
“In Mijas we have seen how the strip of sand has been alarmingly reduced and how the accesses and furniture have suffered significant damage,” he explained.
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“We cannot normalise that every storm leaves us in this situation without a serious and definitive plan existing.”
He highlighted that while the province welcomes over 33 million visitors a year, it ranks near the absolute bottom for state investment.
The right-wing political party Vox has now registered a parliamentary initiative in the Congreso de los Diputados to demand transparency and immediate action.
Patricia Rueda, a national deputy for the party, has formally asked what specific measures will be taken to halt the loss of sand.
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She demanded to know whether the government will finally construct permanent sea defences to protect the coastline, or simply ‘continue wasting money topping up the beaches with sand every year’.
“Malaga residents deserve to know how much money has been spent and why we remain in exactly the same spot every winter,” she said.
The crisis has been further compounded by the ongoing battle against invasive Asian seaweed.
In 2024 alone, local town halls were forced to spend nearly €692,000 to clear the vegetation from their shores.
Cuevas accused the PSOE national government of chronically underfunding the coast and failing to plan for the inevitable winter weather.
He argued that because Madrid is legally responsible for Spain’s beaches, it should be footing the bill for the repairs rather than forcing local town halls to drain their own budgets.
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