More than 4,500 inspections of citizen complaints regarding beaches and coastal areas across the country were carried out in the previous three weeks by the Real Estate Services of the Ministry of Economy and National Finance.
During this period, extensive checks were carried out, in cooperation with the Greek police and local municipalities, on more than 150 beaches and more than 750 businesses.
The complaints analysed came mainly through the MyCoast application, but also through telephone calls from citizens to local Real Estate Services.
The violations found
According to the Ministry of Finance, the overall picture of mass checks in recent weeks has clearly improved compared to previous years, as most businesses operating on beaches have complied with the new rules and the new legal framework.
However, audits of the complaints also revealed several violations, ranging from the lack of signage to excess space occupied by additional umbrellas, other constructions, as well as cases in which the occupation was arbitrary without a concession contract.
All prescribed administrative fines were imposed on all businesses found to be in breach, while in cases where there was no contract, around 20 stretches of beach illegally occupied by parasols were sealed off in areas such as Rhodes, Messolonghi, Volos, Corfu, Parga, Thessaloniki, Heraklion, etc.
According to the Ministry of Finance, these sections are once again being used free of charge by citizens, while the fines applied exceed a total of 800 thousand euros.
The 6 areas with the most complaints
It should be noted that the 6 regions of the country that received the most complaints nationwide and were checked as a priority are the following:
- Halkidiki: 1,396 complaints were examined. Checks were carried out on 8 beaches and 38 commercial establishments, where 8 violations were found.
- Preveza: 873 complaints were examined. The auditors carried out checks on 6 beaches and 35 companies where three infractions were found.
- East Attica: 570 complaints were examined. During checks on 17 beaches and 49 businesses in the region, 8 violations were detected and a corresponding number of administrative measures were imposed.
- Cyclades: 409 complaints were examined. Inspections were carried out on 10 different beaches and in 37 commercial establishments, where only one infraction was found.
- Corfu: 325 complaints were examined. In the checks carried out on 3 beaches and 5 companies, 3 violations were found.
- Dodecanese: 163 complaints were examined. Of the checks carried out on 10 beaches and 23 commercial establishments, 9 violations were found.
Finally, it should be noted that controls will continue even more intensively in the coming period, giving priority to areas with the most complaints from citizens and also to those where there is a large number of named complaints.