More than 5,000 people were said to have taken part this morning in the human-chain protest against the plan to install a chiringuito beach bar, sunbeds and attractions on the beach at Son Serra de Marina between Can Picafort and Arta.
Santa Margalida town hall wishes to introduce these facilities in order, it says, for the beach to qualify for Blue Flag status. This requires, in addition to water and environmental quality, certain services. The opposition to the plan is based on the fact that the beach is unspoiled, although much of the beach lies within the municipality of Arta. Known as Sa Canova, this part of the beach is backed by dunes and forest. It also has no facilities, and Arta town hall has been suggesting that the Santa Margalida plan would encroach upon its territory, the boundary line being the Na Borges torrent (stream), the mouth of which is only a short distance from the final buildings in Son Serra.
Traffic into Son Serra was brought to a standstill because of the numbers going to the protest and also because of a road accident in which a motorcyclist and his companion were killed in a collision at the entrance to Son Serra from the main road between Can Picafort and Arta.