Benidorm renews the Blue Flag in Levante and Mal Pas and will argue the decision on Poniente

Benidorm has renewed today the Blue Flag for Levante and Mal Pas beaches, which certifies their excellence and is awarded annually by the European Federation for Environmental Education (FEE). After knowing the decision of the body, the City Council has advanced that it will argue against the decision to deprive Poniente beach of its distinction, which has been adopted based on the result of a single analysis carried out in mid-June 2021 at a point of the beach and that affects the computation of the rest of those obtained.

The councillor for the area, Mónica Gómez, explained that "the samples and analyzes carried out by the Municipal Laboratory on those dates certify that the result obtained by the FEE in one of the two areas analyzed is punctual and isolated, and consequently they do not determine the quality and excellence of the water and the sand of the beach”. Gómez has insisted that “Benidorm's beaches are constantly audited by different organizations and comply with the most demanding quality certifications”.

Thus, she has recalled that for more than a decade the Levante, Mal Pas and Poniente beaches have had the Q Quality certification (ISO 13009). In addition, since 2003 they have had ISO 9001 and 1400, and since 2010 they have also complied with the EMAS Regulation, regarding the voluntary participation of organizations in a community environmental management and auditing system. The three beaches are also recognized with the SICTED quality label and last year they also obtained the 'Safety Beach' seal.

The councillor has clarified that "the rest of the parameters of Poniente beach, such as accessibility or the services provided, are excellent, as in the other two beaches". Hence, the decision adopted by the FEE "is unfair, even more so if we take into account that those of Benidorm are accessible beaches throughout the year and the only ones with cleaning and rescue devices during the twelve months of the year". In this sense, the accessible beach points of Levante and Parque de Elche have the Universal Accessibility label by the UNE-170000-1 and 170000-2 standards.

Gómez has pointed out that “if something also characterizes the management of our beaches, it is constant improvement, periodically adding new services to improve the experience of users and guarantee that they continue to be the best urban beaches in the world and a benchmark for the rest of the world. municipalities".

The councillor has advanced that "the Department of Beaches and the Municipal Laboratory, reports have been issued that certify the quality of all the parameters that can be analyzed for the granting of the Blue Flag and that they will be sent to the competent body as an allegation against the decision of not renewing the badge for Poniente beach”. Gómez has clarified that "this allegation could not be made previously as they were not previously informed of the decision adopted by the FEE".

In a Board of Spokespersons, this information has been transferred to the groups of the Corporation, who "have shown their support in this matter, knowing the quality of our beaches and the strict controls to which they are subject throughout the year".