Miguel Martin Alonso |
Vera (Almería) (EFE).- The Almería municipality of Vera boasts of being the paradise of nudism in Europe, as demonstrated every year by the beach of ‘El Playazo’ or the nine naturist developments in the area, a practice that is not strange on the Almeria coast although, depending on the strip, it may be illegal, restricted or the result of use.
The coastal town has been in the news this week thanks to a ruling against the nudists of one of these developments, ‘Natura World’, since the Supreme Court (TS) has ruled that the owners or tenants of the apartments cannot be impose nudism in common areas, such as the pool or gardens.
‘Natura World’ is one of the nine naturist communities in the area, as confirmed to EFE by the Vera City Council, which boasts nudist tourism. Proof of this is that one kilometer of ‘El Playazo’ is reserved for the practice of nudism.
The Almeria town has the only naturist hotel in Spain and is also home to restaurants, beach bars, nightclubs, beach facilities, sports areas, games and services for those who defend nudity in common areas as a way of life and respect for the environment. atmosphere.
The judgment of the Supreme
The judgment of the Supreme Court declares null and void the norm of the community of owners of this Veratense urbanization to “prevent or disturb the plaintiffs from accessing the swimming pools and other common spaces (…) due to the fact of not practicing nudism, they infringe their fundamental rights to equality, ideological freedom and privacy”.
Something that, according to THE president of the Spanish Naturism Federation, Ismael Rodrigo, can be applied by nudists in contrary cases, because “as it is a question of ideology, the same can be said in the case of those who choose to do without the swimsuit”.
All in all, Rodrigo considers that the case of ‘Natura World’ is “peculiar”, since, until now, there have been no problems in the naturist urbanizations of this coastal strip, which each summer can accommodate some 13,000 nudists.
“In this urbanization there are because the builder went bankrupt. He built houses in many other places and, to make up for the houses that he did not deliver to his buyers, he gave the ones in this development. They have put people in a nudist area who have never been nudist nor had the intention of doing it”, Rodrigo points out.
Aurora, a neighbor of ‘Natura World’, told EFE after being challenged by the Supreme Court ruling that it would have to be “all free”, that everyone go as they want, dressed or naked. “If we all respected each other, we would do better,” she adds.
Another tenant, Arturo, has lamented that there are “many years of lawsuits” messing with each other. Regarding the sentence, he predicts that the problem will come when summer arrives and, with it, the more than four hundred residents in the urbanization.
What is the legal situation?
Nudism on beaches and public spaces is regulated by municipal ordinances. The Supreme Court has so far ruled on four occasions -Cádiz, Barcelona, Castell-Platja d’Aro (Girona) and Valladolid-, all of them in favor of the regulations of the city councils.
However, the president of the Spanish Naturism Federation insists that when organic law 5/1988 abolished the crime of public scandal, nudism became legal in any public space.
The problem, says Ismael Rodrigo, came in 2013 with the modification of the Local Regime Bases law: “It made it easier for them to sanction and some city councils interpreted that they could make mini-constitutions,” he asserts.
Regarding the Supreme Court rulings, he censures that they deny the character of “ideology” of nudism, and that they have all been drafted by the “same five judges.”
“The Ombudsman has said that it is outrageous, a court does not decide what an ideology is, not even the Supreme Court,” he adds.
Almeria ordinances
Rodrigo recalls that, in addition, the European Court of Human Rights, in a case referring to the United Kingdom, has already ruled that regulating a freedom like this requires a parliamentary majority, something that in Spain, he argues, can only be done with a law organic. And despite this, in Almería there is a proliferation of ordinances that include naturism and nudism in their articles.
The situation is different depending on the strip of Almeria coastline. Thus, nudism is prohibited on all the beaches and coves of Adra, another of the tourist municipalities in the area, except for ‘Playa de la Juana’.
El Ejido prohibits full nudism on the beach, while Roquetas de Mar and the city of Almería do not refer to these practices in their ordinances, but they do not have nudist beaches either.
Níjar and the popular coves of Cabo de Gata have become the favorite haven for naturists for years. However, its municipal ordinance mentions nothing on this matter, and the City Council informs EFE that there is none with this qualification.
The Carboneras City Council designates the beaches of ‘Los Muertos’ and ‘El Algarrobico’, as delimited and protected beaches for the practice of naturism, although the so-called “textiles” can also go without having to do without their swimwear.
Another of the most visited towns on the Almeria coast, Mojácar, allows nudism in the natural coves “farthest away and with a volcanic rock structure” and points out that those of ‘Bordenares’, ‘Sombrerico’ and ‘Granatilla’ are delimited beaches and protected for naturism, who can also use the textiles.
In Garrucha, this practice is not addressed in its ordinance, but the City Council confirms to EFE that there are no nudist beaches. The adjoining municipality, Vera, is clear: naturism is “traditional” in the town and the City Council may mark beach areas that are considered preferential.
Quite the opposite occurs in Cuevas del Almanzora. Naturism is considered a minor infraction, penalized from 100 to 750 euros, and it is prohibited on beaches, bathing areas and water areas of “the entire coastline” of the municipality.
Lastly, Pulpí does not have an express ordinance for beaches, but neither does it have spaces of this type reserved for nudists.
