STAFF REPORTER
WITH fears that autumn rains could trigger heavy landslides, Calvia Council is on an urgent mission to bring a halt to the major earth subsidence taking place in the upper area of Costa d'en Blanes.
The Council has already set a process in motion to have seven chalets evacuated after rocks - some with a diameter of more than 3 metres - were coming loose from the slope where the Mediterranean residential complex is built.
Planning Department director, Teresa Martorell, of the Partido Popular party (PP) made public the terms and conditions of a contract to assess the condition of the terrain and to propose measures to safely halt and shore up the subsidence.
Martorell confirmed that the area where the major earth movements are occurring is a publicly owned rural plot, and the site of a now-disused quarry which has been partially filled in with materials of varying kinds. Martorell's report confirmed that there remains a serious risk of further subsidence which will possibly affect not just those living in the upper part of Costa d'en Blanes but also those in the lower region.
Given the risks posed by the earth movement, the Councillor reiterated the need for expert technical assessment prior to any definitive earthworks being undertaken, and for the recommendations to be made within the earliest possible timeframe.