By Chris Evans

The news surrounding the potential development near Sedef Koy has created such a vacuum. People have been concerned about their homes and the effect one, or possibly two, 1,000 bedroom hotels will have on the local area.

Let’s deal with the only facts we currently know. The two plots, comprising eight parcels of land, have been allocated for tourism investment by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for local and foreign entrepreneurs for hotels, staff lodgings, and accommodation facilities.

The announcement from the Ministry mentioned a 1,000 bed 5 star resort on two plots. It is unclear if this means one hotel across both plots or two 1,000 bed hotels with one on each plot.

Local and foreign entrepreneurs will have to pay an initial TL50,000 allocation request. The Ministry will then decide which of these investors will be allocated the lands based on the financial viability of their business plan and proof of access to necessary funds to complete the project.

We have also seen an outline of the maps of the plots. For those that saw the map, it is the shaded area only. From detailed examination, and a magnifying glass, no existing houses are included in the land to be allocated. It is all currently used as farmland or scrubland.

From here, we encounter the information vacuum. I don’t want to speculate or encourage gossip, so will, instead, address some of the obvious concerns people have, and some of the potential benefits to the area. Sadly, I can only raise the points and not provide answers.

I spend the winter months walking the Sagtur army of stray dogs over this land and have done for several years. I regularly feel the memories of those dogs who are no longer with us because they’ve either been adopted or passed away. It’s a very emotional connection. Losing an area of natural beauty is always distressing and an issue for many of us. We can only hope this is taken into account when the plans for the winning entrepreneur are accepted.

There are concerns surrounding light and sound pollution and the effects on local infrastructure during both the building and finished stages. One hopes the plans will include improved electric, water, and drainage. The roads will also require some attention to cope with heavy plant and the extra traffic headed to the resort.

There are benefits, but again, it depends on what develops as the final resort. An all-inclusive has a very different impact to a resort where people utilise local businesses and restaurants during their stay. It can either be a huge boon for the area, or the final nail in the coffin. Even an all-inclusive can be advantageous for local businesses, but they will have to offer something people want to escape the resort for.

The second, obvious, benefit is a 1,000-bed hotel needs a lot of staff. There will be plenty of job vacancies, again helping the local community.

In short, the downsides are environmental with the benefits being economic depending on what the final plans are.

I know I’d love to see a resort with a thousand beds that blends into the natural environment with a 9 hole golf course and other amenities locals, as well as guests, have access to. A dream maybe, but one worth clinging to.

Most importantly, I hope whoever the investors are engage with the local community and take their thoughts and concerns into consideration. Judging by one resort, who shall remain nameless, I don’t have high hopes on this score.

We have a beautiful coastline on the west coast of Turkiye. We need resorts and hotels of a high standard to match our landscape. What none of us want is to turn into the south coast of Spain in the 1980s where the natural beauty is destroyed by over-development. I remember when Malaga was a relatively small town, not somewhere that spread through Estepona right the way to Gibraltar, as it was massively over-developed.

We can only hope the experiences of other countries will prevent the same from happening here. Voices will, obviously, keep a close eye on this story as it evolves.