By Alexandra Epifaniou

The environmental organisations BirdLife Cyprus and Terra Cypria have renewed their concerns over the Lady’s Mile beach, urging the British bases administration to publicly clarify how it ensures compliance with legal and environmental obligations of business operations in the area. 

The Lady’s Mile is a protected area of high importance and the summer season “is particularly critical, as it coincides with the breeding season for sea turtles and bird species that use the area’s coastal and wetland habitats”, the organisations emphasised. 

Activities in the area that have raised serious questions include nighttime events, increased use of the beach during evening hours and the presence of bright lighting and noise.

Additionally, extensive and heavy infrastructure, such as sunbeds, which, by law, must be removed between 7pm and 7am, as well as water sports, equally pose a risk to the area’s ecological integrity they said.

The administration has effectively enforced restrictions in the past by regulating which events could proceed.

“This past practice shows that the relevant procedures, both for licensing and oversight, exist and can be implemented when the necessary administrative will is present,” the organisations said. Even so, an increasing deterioration in regulation over the past five years is said to have been observed. As such, they are calling on the Limassol and Kourion municipalities for a transparent regulatory framework.

The British bases administration has, in turn, mentioned that it recognises the evident challenge in reconciling both the existence of recreational activities and the protection of Lady’s Mile. “Protecting the region’s natural environment and ensuring the safety of those who visit and use it is at the top of our priorities,” it previously stated.