Finestrat Forrest Folly

bulldozing it flat

Last February the schoolchildren of Finestrat, just down the road from Benidorm, planted around 600 trees to celebrate International Tree day. The pines, olives, carobs and holm oaks planted that day brought the Alhambra area's tree population up to 1000.

Now the opposition Partido Popular on the town council have accused the ruling socialists of sending excavators into the area and bulldozing it flat. Hopping mad, they are saying that the kids should be compensated for at least the cost of the trees and they can't understand why there was any need to destroy such a beautiful place only two months after it was created.

For their part the Socialists have responded by inviting anybody interested on a trip to water the trees. They say that every tree is exactly where it was last February and that maybe the Partido Popular got a little confused when the council cleared a completely different area when closing an environmental workshop there.

Clearly then, this is a case of the PP not being able to see the wood for the trees!

18 June 2006 Stephen White.