February 9, 2019 - The municipality of Tivat stays in favor of using Ponta Seljanovo beach as a public city beach and a well-appointed swimming area accessible to everyone, the Municipality announced.
The Secretary for Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development Tamara Furtula reminded that the Municipality of Tivat, on several occasions, delivered an opinion to the Sea Property Public Company (Morsko Dobro) about the status of Ponta Seljanovo.
"Taking into account the interest of the citizens of Tivat, the attitude of the Municipality is to complete the project together with the Sea Property on the realization of the arrangement of Ponta Seljanovo, modeled on the realization of the project of the Pine promenade. Considering that this is one of the most visited beaches in the summer and that it is the only natural beach with all the benefits, we remain in the position that it should remind a public area and a well-appointed swimming area available to everyone," Furtula pointed out.
The Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism submitted to the Municipality of Tivat the opinion of the Proposal of the Atlas of Montenegrin beaches and bathing places. According to this document, Ponta Seljanovo consists of two parts, which include bars with terraces, and areas with deck chairs. It is one location divided into two areas - 5A and 5B area of 105m2 each. The part named 5A is the area around the lighthouse, and the area 5B is a space that extends from cypress trees to the ramp for impaired movement and wheelchair users.
At the 5A, Sea Property planned a beach bar area of 30 square meters with a terrace of 50 square meters, and a space for setting up mobile, which would fill half of the 5A area. At the 5B beach, Sea Property planned to set up a bar object of 10 square meters with a terrace of 30 square meters and 50% of the space for setting up deck chairs and parasols.
"The Tivat Municipality's attitude towards the 5A beach is such that this swimming area remains as a public city beach without setting up beach equipment and the planned beach facility with a terrace. Also, the attitude of the Municipality regarding this location is that in the next five years, the current Atlas, it will be accessible to all citizens and will not be subject to any lease, including investment. The municipality also asked for the bathing area 5B to change the mode so that the part closer to the 5A beach is without equipment and the other part with it. Also, we asked to exclude the setting up of a beach bar with a terrace because there is a restaurant in the background of the object," Furtula said.
The President of the Municipality of Tivat, Dr. Sinisa Kusovac organized a meeting with the representatives of the Sea Property on the theme of Ponta Seljanovo.
"At the meeting, we requested changes to the Atlas of Montenegrin beaches and swimming areas, and the observations of the Municipality of Tivat will be respected. This meeting concluded that our Communal Company would take over the management of the 5A beach area and that it would be a public beach without planned beach bars with a terrace. We insist on this, and we hope that the Sea Property will meet the Municipality of Tivat demands," concluded Furtula.
Before the deadline, the Municipality of Tivat submitted to the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism and the Sea Property the opinion on the Atlas of Montenegrin Beaches, Furtula said.
Last year in May, there was a civil protest against privatization of Ponta Seljanovo, organized by the informal civic initiative Bokobran, which gathered a few hundred citizens of Tivat and other Bokelian cities. At that moment, the Municipality of Tivat was conducting the public hearing on Environmental Impact Assessment for the project of the beach resort the company Sea Trade planned to build at Ponta Seljanovo. That project was not designed following the spacial and technical demands the Municipality delivered in advance.
