The former mayor of Pollensa and now deputy mayor for urban planning, Tomeu Cifre, has challenged opposition parties at the town hall to "speak clearly" about the Hotel Formentor. "If you don't want it to be rebuilt, then be brave enough and say so."
Cifre has responded to demands by the main opposition group, Junts Avançam, for an immediate halt to work on the hotel and for the opening of sanctioning procedures. Junts are questioning the legality of the work, which now entails the demolition of the original hotel; they argue that licences granted by the town hall weren't for total demolition.
The deputy mayor says that opposition parties "are obsessed with delaying this strategic and fundamental work for Pollensa". "There is a justified structural issue for the demolition. If the hotel has been demolished, what is the opposition's objective? That the hotel isn't done? Let's see if they are capable of saying that, let them be brave. There is no reason to sanction the owners because what they have presented is not a file to legalise work but rather a modification of a project that complies with the regulations."
For Junts, Miquel Àngel March has responded by insisting that "the issue here is not what we have to say about whether it should be rebuilt or not, it is a matter of strict legality". "We are all equal before the law and we must avoid favourable treatment. The work cannot continue until it has the respective licences."