Relief for campaigners as five-star hotel on Milos’s famous ‘moon beach’ halted | Greece

Environmental activists welcomed the decision to stop building a five -star hotel contested on a Greek beach known for its exceptional natural beauty.

Local authorities on the Cycladic island in Milos said that a world -renowned “moon beach” seaside resort was revoked by the municipality planning service after failing inspection standards.

“It was found that all the approvals and support documents had not been submitted,” the island’s municipal council said on Wednesday in a statement. “No construction will take place without any compliance with environmental laws and requirements.”

The mayor of Milos, Manolis Mikelis, had faced an increasing public outcry on the planned development after the excavators were spotted for the first time on the site earlier this year.

Famous for its lunar volcanic landscape, TheWN over millions of years, the Milos “Beach” is among the most photographed shores in Greece, with travel experts describing it as among the most beautiful on the planet.

The architectural plans envisaged the cascading hotel complex through a large area of ​​white-white rocks, with swimming pools and caves villas built for the breathtaking Turquoise Aegean seas below.

But for many, the Milos project had become synonymous with the threat posed by the fleeing construction on the Greek islands.

“The decision is undeniably good news, but in reality, it is only a small step in the right direction,” explains Dimitris Vayanos, an academic who directs Save IOS, an association of citizens created to protect the character and the natural environment of the cycladic island. “There is enormous pressure from various stakeholders to build these islands to death. Right now, there are about 50 hotels under construction in Milos. ”

At no other time, Greece has attracted so many tourists. Last year, it attracted 36.1 million visitors, almost four times its resident population, feeding a building frenzy which is largely feared to threaten the fragile ecosystem of island channels such as cyclades.

Greek and foreign investors, which, helped by a flourishing construction industry, have taken Greek and foreign investors, helped by a flourishing construction industry, have taken large fields in popular destinations – a trend that started when the country struck with debt was plunged into an prolonged economic crisis 15 years ago.

“Cyclades are particularly vulnerable because they are so small,” said Vayanos, a professor of funding at the London School of Economics. “This whole company began at the start of the crisis in 2010 when shepherds and farmers began to sell plots to investors, who in turn began to acquire land after the other who made [enforcement of] Even more difficult zoning restrictions. »»

The Ministry of the Environment of Greece must become “much more serious” on the protection of the cultural and natural heritage of the islands, it said: “There is no excuse. We are out of the crisis now. ”

The fleeing construction, in particular swimming pools, has exerted unprecedented pressure on natural resources, the water shortage this summer at the top of the list of ecological risks on the Greek islands.

In a first line country of climate break, where global heating is expected to increase at unprecedented rates, environmental experts have expressed more and more sustainable tourism.

Describing the Milos decision as “the tip of the iceberg”, Demetres Karavellas, the general manager of the WWF grie, told the goalkeeper “the very identity” of the National Island archipelalates was in danger of being lost if the overdevelopment and other non-limited tourism by-products had not been put under control.

“Milos’ decision can be good … but what happens to dozens of other similar cases in the islands which are not exposed publicly and examined?” He said. “On many Greek islands, an uncontrolled construction frenzy erases the landscape before our eyes. Without proactive planning and appropriate clear rules, damage to the nature and very identity of these unique islands become irreversible. ”

With the backlash and more citizens forming basic groups to exert pressure to local authorities, the victories stories such as this week in Milos attract attention.

But while the judicial authorities have examined the examination of new projects – with the Council of State, the Supreme Court of Administrative Law of the country, often weighing to reverse controversial decisions – activists say that it is almost impossible to follow, while development is moving at such an accelerated rate in a country where justice wheels move so slowly.

In 2019, residents living at the sight of the Acropolis in Athens won what was considered a major legal decision after having challenged the construction of a five -star and five -star hotel criticized as too high for the region.

The Court’s decision encouraged the Greek ministry of culture to order the abolition of the two main floors of the hotel. Six years later, they are still there.