The Government takes this opportunity to reassure residents and beachgoers at Catalan Bay of the facts relating to the planned and approved extent of the marina arm at the Eastside reclamation. It is unfortunate that this matter has been heavily politicised in recent days by the Opposition seeking to make political capital out of the genuine strong cultural and social attachments of the public to Catalan Bay.

The designs and plans for the revetment are as submitted to and approved by the Development and Planning Commission. There have not been any changes to these. When they are considered as a whole, the plans approved by the DPC are designed specifically to preserve and enhance historic Catalan Bay, bringing new life to the area, enriching the marine environment and offering protection from the winter storms that have razed the shoreline in recent years.

Indeed, the Environmental Impact Assessment for the coastal protection works was the first consideration and condition of the agreement for the entire Eastside project. These documents, including those clearly outlining the mitigation measures to be taken to protect marine biodiversity and preserve water quality, are all freely available on the Government’s Town Planning portal:

 https://tpbc.egov.gi/Record/Record?applicationID=BWUZXdYYE2Q%3D

The issue that has been wrongly highlighted as a catastrophic intrusion to Catalan Bay is one of geographical perspective, and appears to be based on a misunderstanding of how the design is represented on paper. When the coordinates (as per official project plans) are plotted on a map and compared against the outline of the Rock, the marina arm appears to reach the southernmost point of the bay, giving the impression that it completely intrudes in the sea view from Caleta beach. However, this is not the case. In reality, the beach itself does not run on a strict north-south axis, but at a slight diagonal angle. Once that angle is taken into account and an accurate perpendicular line is drawn, it is clear that the marina arm only extends minimally beyond the northernmost part of the beach. This has been clearly illustrated by the images disclosed by the contractor (Trusted Novus Group) in their statement today.

The diagonal angle and orientation of the beach means that anyone looking out to sea from Catalan Bay will not have their natural view obstructed by the revetment. This has been deeply considered and incorporated into the plans for the wider development, which will include provisions to “recharge beach material” to further adjust the orientation of the beach and adapt to changes on incoming wave direction and flow circulation. This “recharging” will enhance the beachgoing experience and further mitigate the visual impact of the breakwater from the shoreline. Following the natural line of sight out from the shoreline, the orientation of the beach will mean that the visual impacts of the revetment will be barely noticeable.

In addition, the element that does project slightly beyond the beach is not a large wall, as has been suggested, but a low-lying revetment. This structure is designed to blend with the existing shoreline and to reduce visual impact from the residential area of Catalan Bay.

The Government remains committed to ensuring that the Eastside project delivers long-term environmental and social benefits, while respecting the natural beauty of our coastline. We encourage the public to consider the technical detail carefully and to be guided by fact rather than misconception.

ENDS