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The future of the El Portús campsite near Cartagena has moved into a decisive new phase, but for many of the people who have called it home for years, the latest plans feel less like progress and more like a final step towards being pushed out altogether.

 

Cartagena City Council has opened a 30-day public consultation on a Special Plan that would reshape the site into a more conventional tourist resort, reducing its residential character and focusing on short-term stays. On paper, the proposal has the stated aim of modernising and improving facilities to make them more sustainable, with a slight reduction in capacity and a shift towards seasonal visitors.

 

However, in practice, it confirms what many residents have long feared: that the era of long-term living at El Portús is coming to an end.

 

The plan itself acknowledges that the campsite had gradually evolved into something it was never intended to be, more akin to a second-home community, with extended stays and semi-permanent residents. For those still living inside the site, while it may be that the campsite was not initially intended for that purposes, the truth is that many of them were issued certificates of empadronamiento for their residences there, and it continues to be the only home they have.

 

A small number of residents – many of them foreign nationals – continue to hold out, despite years of legal battles, evictions and mounting pressure from the campsite’s new owners to evacuate. Their situation has been well documented, with reports of restricted access, surveillance and deteriorating living conditions.

 

One resident previously described the atmosphere starkly, saying, “We haven’t moved from here since January because we’re afraid if we go out, we’ll be left without a home.” Another spoke of “psychological torture” linked to being constantly monitored and cut off from normal daily routines.

 

Others have described more direct confrontations. “We’ve had a couple of incidents here with security,” said resident Chris Miller. “A French woman and her male friend tried to get through the fence... and a security guard became quite aggressive and threw them to the ground. He then repeatedly kicked the guy as he lay on the floor trying to cover himself by rolling into a ball.”

 

In October 2025, an 82-year-old woman living at the site committed suicide, unable to deal with “inhumane treatment” she had received over the years and with the prospect of being evicted from her home. She had made a double suicide pact with her husband Colin, who did not finally kill himself.

 

Accounts like these have contributed to a sense that, beyond the planning documents and official language, there is a human cost to the El Portús campsite that remains unresolved.

 

From the perspective of the private company that owns the campsite now, Newtown Capital S.L., the changes are both necessary and lawful. They maintain that the plots have always been rental spaces and that regional regulations prohibit permanent residence, arguing that the vast majority of users have accepted the transition and that the new model will bring economic and environmental benefits to the area, including upgraded accommodation, reduced traffic and better integration with the surrounding protected landscape.

 

That landscape, part of the Sierra de la Muela and Cabo Tiñoso natural park, is central to the argument for redevelopment. The plan highlights outdated infrastructure and the presence of units in environmentally sensitive or flood-prone areas, suggesting that reorganisation is not only desirable but essential.

 

And it’s true that few would dispute the need to protect such a setting, yet the question remains whether that goal can be achieved without effectively erasing the long-standing community.

 

Alongside the redevelopment debate, the issue of access to Cala Morena beach has added another layer of tension. A proposal backed by the local Cartagena government to create a public right of way across part of the campsite has now also entered a consultation phase, following a declaration that the land is of public utility.

 

And still, even at this late stage, all is not lost for residents living at El Portús. The consultation period offers a formal opportunity for objections and input to be submitted, offering a glimmer of hope to those who have already spent years in legal limbo and who feel that the authorities’ mind is already made up, despite any public pressure.

 

The coming weeks will show how much weight is given to their dissenting voices, and whether El Portús can find a future that finds a fair balance between the environmental protection it needs, the tourism services that Newtown Capital wants to make them lots of money and the rights of the people who once made it a community rather than just a destination.