Over 300 people gathered at Babilonia beach in Guardamar del Segura for a protest swim to demand the preservation of centennial beachfront houses and to keep their mobilisation active, which residents claim helped halt planned demolitions in September 2025. Demonstrators met at the site of the former Restaurante Jaime to show their commitment to protecting these historic properties.
Young campaigners David Renner and Elicio Mora, who have spearheaded the movement since last year through social media, led the gathering. The protest coincided with a Constitutional Court ruling suspending the Valencian Regional Government’s emergency protection measure that had designated the area as an ethnological site prior to the planned September 2025 demolitions.
“Who would have thought we would be here again, at Babilonia beach, one year later,” Renner said as he encouraged participants to join the protest swim. Mora explained that the event aimed to strengthen community ties between affected owners and supporters from across Alicante province and outside the Valencian Community. “We want to keep showing that we are not alone,” Mora stated, adding that the coastal law affects residents across Spain and calling for changes to the legislation driving these demolition files.
The group avoided discussing the complex legal specifics of the latest Constitutional Court ruling, deferring explanations to the association’s legal team. However, they affirmed that their protest will continue, arguing that destroying the homes will not fix the underlying environmental issues of coastal regression.
According to affected residents, the main cause of erosion is the breakwater built at the mouth of the Segura river, which blocks sediment supply, rather than the presence of the houses. They warn that coastal erosion will advance toward the pine forest if unaddressed, eventually impacting the local council, the regional government, and the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
The Babilonia houses date back to state concessions authorised in 1934 for residential and bathing structures on public coastal land. The Ministry for Ecological Transition denied extension requests for about 70 properties—a decision upheld by the National High Court and the Supreme Court. The Ministry argues that recovering the maritime-terrestrial public domain is necessary to restore the beach, claiming the row of houses accelerates regression and poses safety risks to occupants during storms.
Residents maintain that the primary driver of beach loss is the altered marine dynamics from the Segura River works, a point highlighted during their 2025 “March of the Sand” protest to the Government Sub-delegation in Alicante. The regional government passed the Coastal Protection and Management Law in 2025 to protect traditional coastal sites with ethnological value. While the Constitutional Court maintained the suspension of the clause that could stop demolitions following a national government appeal, it lifted the block on creating an inventory of these sites to request state-level changes.
The protest ended on a festive note with local police present and support from local political figures. A key meeting is scheduled for Thursday 27th August with Regional Territory Councillor Vicente Martínez Mus and Coastal Director General Marc Manzano.
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