More than 3,000 people marched in Ondara on Saturday to say NO to the golf course and urbanisation project at the foot of the Segària mountain.

This historic protest march brought together various groups and associations from all over the Marina Alta, united in their refusal to accept excessive building and town planning speculation in the area.
Pressure groups from Pego and l’Atzúbia, Sanet i Negrals, Xàbia, Dénia and Calpe, as well as solidarity groups from Carcaixent, Benidorm or Elx gathered behind the Salvem Segària-Vinyals banner in one of the largest demonstrations ever in the area.
Left-wing and nationalist politicians (PSOE, Bloc and Els Verds) environmentalists and people from all walks of life, aged from nine to 90, marched shoulder to shoulder.

The march started at 18.30 hours on the main road at the entrance to Ondara. A multitude of banners, flags and slogans represented a variety of political vindications ranging from opposition to the LRAU ‘land grab’ law to the proposed ‘macro-urbanisations’ in Sanet i Negrals and Forna.
Passing motorists hooted their support and a group of Hells Angels stared blankly as organisers, decked out in reflective jackets and builders’ hats and brandishing banners and megaphones tried to recruit them for the cause.

After a loud traca of firecrackers and a roadblock on the N-332, the protest snaked through the town towards the bullring, accompanied by a soundtrack of traditional Valencian dolçaina and tabalet music and chants against environment destruction.
The appearance of Pedreguer theatre group Terato Teatre provided some light relief. The group’s members impersonated various characters involved in the different demands, including politicians, a businessman, a rich landowner and his wife, a golfer and a builder, under the watchful eye of a mean-looking bodyguard.
As the perfectly organised, peaceful and fun protest neared the end, another amusing incident occurred. Guests at a wedding taking place in the town’s main church next to the town hall, looked on in amazement as a surge of people, making as much noise as humanly possible, erupted from a side street. Some of the elegant church goers briefly joined the protest, talking to demonstrators and expressing their support.

Expecting the usual small rally and pat on the back in the bullring, we were pleasantly surprised by a slide show of the Segària mountain as it was pre-building boom and an emotive and fist-clenching manifesto by a well-known local activist.
Then came an emotional song by young Tessa, a short sketch by Terato Teatre and a concert by local bands Katximba (ska/punk rock) and Virus (punk rock).
A magnificent and inspiring end to a very successful protest.

Sanet i Negrals

Along with the Ondara golf course, one of the main issues targeted by demonstrators was the proposed massive building project in Sanet i Negrals.
This village is a tiny Marina Alta inland nature reserve with 600 inhabitants, surrounded by farmland. 
The local town plan allows the construction of 1,500 new houses on 600,000 square metres, which would multiply the current population by 10 and put massive pressure on the town’s scarce resources.

The new houses would be built on the fertile farmland surrounding the town, forcing landowners to sell their plots and causing irreversible damage to the local environment, say opponents.
Els Verds (Green Part) claim this is ‘yet another scandal’ to add to the long list of new town planning speculation projects in Ondara, Forna, Pego, Parcent...