A group of residents and businesspeople in Puerto Alcudia are considering legal action to stop the building of the six new balneario beach bars.
They have hired the services of lawyers, maintaining that the project for the new balnearios, when put out for public consultation, was "a deception". The project's title was 'replacement of the beach balnearios'. But once work started, it wasn't simply about replacing the old and obsolete wooden beach bars but entailed the building of concrete blocks that were higher than the previous bars and with 27-metre facades compared with the ten metres there used to be.
The group argues that the new bars are disproportionate and that the town hall is playing the role of entrepreneur at a time when there is open debate about a need to limit tourism.
A particular grievance has to do with the siting of some of the new bars. They are not where the old ones were. These were at access points to the beach and they didn't block views. One of the new bars is in front of a restaurant terrace. Direct sea views have been affected, and it is the same for some beachside residences. No explanation about the new locations had been given.
When the project was presented, there were no objections, although the environmentalists GOB registered their opposition and demanded a termination of the concession for the project from the Costas Authority; the history of the project is such that it predates transfer of responsibilities from the state Costas Authority to the Balearic government's coasts department.
Alcudia's mayor, Fina Linares, says that the project was developed all of seven years ago and that changes couldn't be made to the Costas concession.
At present, work on Balneario 2 has stopped because fifteen pine trees need to be removed. Work continues on the other five.