Orihuela to amend Red Flag beach regulations to allow surfers to 'enjoy the waves'

Orihuela to amend Red Flag beach regulations to allow surfers to ‘enjoy the waves.’
ORIHUELA Council has agreed to modify the Beach Ordinance which prohibits bathing when the red flag is flying at Cala Cerrada, La Zenia, to allow surfing.
“It is in these cases when the sea meets the optimal conditions for its practice and we must support the group – Zenia Surf Club – that has been calling for it and promote this sport,” said councillor for Beaches, Luisa Boné.
Cala Cerrada is one of 11 beaches along the Orihuela coastline that, according to local surfers, offers “the optimal conditions and characteristics to be able to enjoy surfing among its waves.”
For this reason, surfers have for years been calling for “the mandatory authorisation to be able to practise the sport within a legal framework.”
And demand has been growing year after year.
“My partner and former Beaches’ councillor, Ramón López Cabrera, listened to this demand and authorised surfing on that beach within the framework established in the current Beach Ordinance, setting a series of conditions: having the appropriate licence federative and free practice outside the high season. Now we want to go a step further so that in high season they can also enjoy the waves.”
Following a period for possible presentation against the move, the modification will go to the Municipal Plenary for its final approval.
Boné thanked Zenia Surf Club for its “willingness to collaborate with the council in implementing a good sports culture.”
Meanwhile, the Valencian Community’s Upper Court of Justice (TSJCV) is currently processing a complaint from Orihuela Town Hall that Costas, part of the central government’s Environment Ministry, has refused to rebuild the Playa de La Glea promenade linking Campoamor to Orihuela Costa.
A 100-metre section was washed away by the usually-dry River Nacimiento, swollen by the DANA storms of September 2019. The road suffered further damage in January 2020 when Storm Gloria swept along the coast.
Costas is refusing to rebuild the road, maintaining that according to 2016 measurements it is inside the maritime strip which permits repairs only to the pedestrian promenade.