Approval of the detailed plan, announcement of the assignment of beach concessions, ownership checks between state and private property, reduction of downstream parking, checks and controls to guarantee the 5 meters from the shoreline and establishment of a marine park. The environmentalist associations of the Ancona area and the Conero area launch a six-point campaign for the protection of Portonovo: “Like every year, at the opening of the summer season, we return to talking about the problems of Portonovo, as if it were the first time – yes reads in a note released yesterday and signed by the Ankon Nostra Cultural Association, the No Fumi ODV Association, the ‘Il Butcher’s Broom’ Nature Club, the Mezzavalle Libera Committee, the Ancona Historic Port Committee, Italia Nostra Ancona, Portonovo for all, Let’s Save the Landscape, WWF – A in our opinion, the need to make a series of choices that can no longer be postponed must be reiterated, starting from the approval of the Detailed Plan of Portonovo withdrawn by the previous administration in 2013, after its adoption, in implementation of the 2010 Park Plan. The plan envisages the retreat of the beach facilities and the consequent recovery of large areas of the beach. An agreement was reached in 2010 with the operators themselves which would have avoided the repeated, useless, costly and harmful nourishment and handling of sand and stones. . It is also necessary to immediately launch tenders for the awarding of beach concessions, which expired on 31 December 2023, in application of the EU Bolkestein directive and the repeated rulings of the Italian jurisdictional courts. The associations hope that the tenders will be won by the current managers in the face of a fairer and more adequate concession fee, which is currently negligible compared to the profits that can be obtained. Please remember that despite a cost of at least 3 thousand euros to the user for each piece of equipment with parking space per season, a concession can burden the operator with just 15 thousand euros per year”.
The environmental associations are also attacking on other points: “Reduce parking downstream and enhance the use of the shuttle from the parking upstream and construction of the pedestrian path alongside the access road to the bay as envisaged by the ITI project. Yes to effective controls by the Port Authority on compliance with the mandatory five meters of free passage from the shoreline, required by law. Finally, it is necessary to establish a marine park, whether a Marine Protected Area of the Conero or the marine part of a Monte National Park. Conero. This would make it possible to safeguard the often illegal harvesting of wild mussels, now at risk of disappearing”.
