Marbella’s beaches are in the news. It’s interesting that Marbella’s beaches haven’t made headlines in the Spanish and foreign media, especially in the mass-circulation newspapers in England, where British tourists who spend their summers on the Costa del Sol go to get information. flags, beauty or climate. This time the reason is very different: peeing. Or rather the decision of the City Council to deal seriously with people who decide to empty their bladders into the sea has caused great excitement among visitors.

But… what exactly did the Council propose? And most importantly, with summer just around the corner: could relaxing on the beaches land us a fine?

From beaches, piss and fines. The news actually came out a few months ago, but with the start of summer it has started to gain strength both inside and outside our borders: Marbella has decided to get serious about those who decide to urinate on the coastline. So much so that offenders caught emptying their bladders in a place where they shouldn’t are fined 750 euros. It has been reported that this amount can be doubled to 1,500 euros in the event of a repeat.

This was reported in recent weeks by Spanish newspapers and television networks, as well as British newspapers, Telegram, Independent anyone Time out It is an indication of the extent to which this rule has created expectations in the UK, the origin of regular tourists on the Costa del Sol.

Will the police officer be watching? A team from Cuatro’s programme ‘Tiempo al Tiempo’ even went to the beaches of Marbella to interview swimmers who admitted they didn’t quite understand how the rule would be enforced. “Who’s going to find out, the jellyfish?” one joked. She wasn’t the only one. Another woman wondered how the authorities would monitor what was being done in the water: will the police be watching? “I don’t understand anything,” she admitted, equally confused.

Adequacy of the regulation. Thursday Guardian It investigated exactly what the regulation was intended to do. The London newspaper claimed that after contacting Marbella City Council, authorities rejected claims that people caught emptying their bladders in the warm waters of its beaches would face a €750 fine. The key lies in the wording of the regulation governing the breach. A spokesperson for the Council explained that the regulation effectively addressed the problem but was referring to people urinating from the shore or jetties into the sea.

The council stresses: “The regulation does not impose any penalties for urinating in the sea.” “It will not be applicable. The regulation regulates possible antisocial offences on the beach, just as it regulates any such action in any public area, such as city streets.” The de facto regulation does not only mention urinating on the beach. The document also addresses behaviour that could disturb other swimmers, such as playing games, improper use of showers, littering the sand and throwing cigarette butts in the sand or using loudspeakers.

But… what exactly does the text say? The regulation on the conditions of use of beaches and adjacent areas is quite comprehensive, but what caught the eye and made news was a very short statement in one of the headings of Article 67, which deals with minor offences. The statement states that “physiological discharge at sea and on the beach” will be considered as such. At the end of the rule it is stated that such minor violations will be punished with a fine of up to 750 euros.

This Monday Time out The board, which previously stated that the fines for actions such as urinating in a place where it should not be done were 300 euros, stated that the 750 euro fine, although approved by the Consortium, will not be implemented until it is presented to the public. The fact that the Marbella initiative is currently in the news can be explained by the progress made in the procedures at the end of June, which coincides with the beginning of summer.

Goal: clean beaches. The truth is that Marbella is not the first to declare war on peeing on beaches. Before that, Vigo and Málaga were also in the news for the same reason. The first, a few years ago, passed a regulation that also caused a stir among foreign tourists, but in this case, it was the Portuguese who spent their summers in the south of Galicia.

The 2021 regulation, carried out by Abel Caballero’s team, uses similar expressions to that of Marbella. “Discharge into the sea or the beach” is prohibited, as is washing with soap and shampoo in the estuary. It even insists that “physiological discharge in the sea or sandy areas” is considered a minor offence. To prevent this, the City Council undertakes to install public toilets.

Malaga (and beyond)The situation in Malaga is even older. Article 16 of the Beach Use and Enjoyment Regulation, approved ten years ago, states that “physiological discharge at sea or on the beach” is prohibited. View of Malaga However, it is stated that the sanctions here are small and do not exceed 300 euros. Neither Malaga nor Vigo will be unique cases.

At least in Lepe, in the province of Huelga, it was also decided to leave the ban on urination in places frequented by bathers in black and white. In 2012, the newspaper A B C A new regulation has been introduced that imposes fines of up to 750 euros on those who empty their bladder on the beach or in the sea. The aim: to “raise awareness” among those who swim in the sea and improve the protection of beaches.

It is better to wait in public places. Vigo, Malaga and now Marbella share in their regulations the prohibition of urinating “in the sea or on the beach” (and in large bodies of water). Since the last City Council it has been clarified that the focus is no longer on what is done in the water, but on points such as the coast or the breakwater.

Urinating in public places is prohibited by municipal regulations. And not only on the beach. What is important in the case of beaches is what the spokesperson of the Marbella Municipal Council says or what bathers in Marbella point out on the Cuatro microphones: to what extent is it “operational” to approve urination in the water? And above all, how can they be controlled in the middle of the sea?

Image | Big ash (Flickr)

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