Wednesday, 14 January 2026, 12:31
Axarquía-based environmental study group GENA–Ecologists en Acción has denounced clearing and construction work, which it believes to be illegal, near El Cañuelo beach, within the Maro-Cerro Gordo Cliffs Natural Park.
It has issued its complaint to the sustainability and environment department of the Andalusian regional government.
According to the environmental group, the work has been going on for approximately one month on a plot of land next to the old picnic area on the beach, which is currently inactive. The first action consisted of removing scrub and bushes, the remains of which were subsequently burned, as evidenced by a large black mark clearly visible in the cleared area.
GENA claims that, subsequently, a vehicle allegedly entered the beach without authorisation to transport machinery intended to level the ground, work which, according to the group’s complaint, was carried out at night. In addition, a crew of three or four people allegedly built stone structures, similar to walls or breakwaters and extracted boulders from a nearby cliff to continue this work.
“The series of actions detected is incompatible with the protection regime for the area and constitutes a direct alteration of protected habitats,” argue GENA. The group has pointed out that the area is protected by Law 2/1989 on protected natural areas in Andalucía, forms part of the Natura 2000 Network as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and is listed as a Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance (SPA).
The association points out that the natural resources management plan (Plan de Ordenación de los Recursos Naturales, or PORN) and the use and management master plan (Plan Rector de Uso y Gestión, or PRUG) for the area expressly prohibit free construction and even more so without an environmental impact study submitted for public information.
GENA has argued that the work cannot be justified either as housing, as it is a new building constructed after the area was declared a protected space, or as a picnic area or beach bar, as it does not appear in the current beach plan and the El Cañuelo beach “has no tourist function”.
GENA has called on the Junta de Andalucía to open an investigation, assess the environmental damage caused, impose the appropriate fines and take the necessary measures to halt and prevent the continuation of the work. There are two beach bars on Cañuelo beach that have been operating for years, as SUR has been able to verify.