Landowners in the Irakli seaside area blocked the Varna-Bourgas road for 25 minutes on August 18 in a protest against a ban on construction in the area.

The ban was issued two weeks ago by the Minister of Environment and Waters Affairs, Djevdet Chakurov, who banned all construction except for clearing stations for waste and drinking water processing as well as anti-landslide measures.   

The veto covers about 9633 acres in the beach surroundings, as they are possible protected zones for inclusion in the EU Natura 2000 project, the EU network of sites assigned for protection of species and habitats in certain areas.

The same day the roadblock took place, the Da Spasim Iirakli (Let’s Save Irakli) civic organisation submitted a list of 13 000 signatures to Parliament in a campaign to protect the Irakli area and other wild beaches on the Bulgarian coast. Irakli, between Varna and Bourgas, is one of the last remaining wild areas on Bulgarian Black Sea coast. Protests arose two months ago against plans by some investors to built holiday complexes. Landowners are determined to sell their land to investors, as much environmental activists are determined to ban construction.   

It is planned that the future Irakli resort area would accommodate between 3000 and 5000 tourists. Property owners previously had said that ecological organisations in favour of the ban were protecting economic interests either voluntarily or involuntarily. According to reports in the Bulgarian-language media, 10 people own property in Irakli with investment purpose and nearly 50 people had inherited land there. After Chakurov’s order was issued, one of the investors in the future Irakli resort area, Swiss Properties, said that they would appeal against it. The company has already purchased plots and finalised a project, said the company’s managing director, Stoyan Zahariev.

On August 15, reports about a fine imposed on a property owner at Irakli were published by Bulgarian-language news agencies. The fine of 10 000 leva was imposed because of the fences that a landowner had erected in the Irakli area. The document spelling out the fine has not been handed over because the owner was not present to receive it.