Environmental campaigners have welcomed a decision to halt construction of a disputed five-star hotel on a Greek beach known for its outstanding natural beauty. Local authorities on the Cycladic island of Milos said a building licence for the resort on the world-renowned 'moon beach' had been revoked by the municipality’s planning department after falling short of inspection standards.
'It was found that not all required approvals and supporting documentation had been submitted,' the island’s municipal council said in a statement. 'No construction will proceed without full compliance with laws and environmental requirements.' Milos’ mayor, Manolis Mikelis, had faced growing public outcry over the planned development after excavators were first spotted on the site earlier this year.
Famous for its lunar-like volcanic landscape, Milos’s 'moon beach' is among the most photographed shorelines in Greece. Architectural plans envisioned the hotel complex cascading across a vast area of pumice-white rocks, with swimming pools and cave villas constructed within view of turquoise Aegean seas. However, for many the Milos project had become synonymous with the threat posed by runaway construction on Greek islands.
'The decision is undeniably good news but in reality it is only a small step in the right direction,' says Dimitris Vayanos, an academic who heads Save Ios, a citizens’ association. 'There is huge pressure from various stakeholders to build these islands to death. Right now, there are about 50 hotels being constructed in Milos.' Greece attracted 36.1 million visitors last year, fuelling a building spree that is widely feared to be threatening the fragile ecosystem of island chains such as the Cyclades.
Underpinning the development are Greek and foreign investors who have snapped up large tracts of land in popular destinations. Greece’s ministry of environment must become 'much more serious' about protecting the islands’ cultural and natural heritage, Vayanos said. Describing the Milos decision as 'the tip of the iceberg', Demetres Karavellas, general director of WWF Greece, warned that 'the very identity' of the nation’s island archipelagoes was at risk of being lost if overdevelopment were not brought under control.
