PALMA
THE Balearic government made it clear yesterday that no further residential or touristic construction will be approved alongside golf courses in the Islands.
Regional president Francesc Antich was also adamant that there are no circumstances under which his Administration would permit the building of golf courses on protected land. Draft legal steps are already in place to totally repeal laws enshrined in 1998 and 2003 which permitted golf course development and the building of family homes along protected sections of the Ibizan coastline.
On Majorca, recategorisation of tracts of land in Andratx, Banyalbufar, Valldemossa, Soller, Escorca, Esporles, Sant Joan de Labritja, and Sant Josep de sa Talaia will mean that the terrain will become officially protected from building development. On Friday, the Balearic government will approve emergency measures to preserve areas of the Island which were previously open to residential or touristic planning applications - the move comes after wide-reaching agreement was reached amongst the Socialist coalition on Territory conservation and that projects which are currently under scrutiny or on their way to being approved should be blocked accordingly.
Biel Barceló, spokesman for the left-wing Bloc which supported Francesc Antich in his election bid for the presidency, said they backed all measures aimed at stopping building work that threatened the Islands' fragile ecosystem. Such areas include the Ses Fontanelles natural wetlands to the east of Palma and Ses Feixes in Ibiza where all building licenses will be suspended.