Today’s full session of the Council of Majorca approved definitively the suspension of large retail developments until the overall plan for commercial centre developments is approved (expected by the middle of next year). Voting was thirty in favour with two abstentions.
Mercedes Garrido, the councillor for land and infrastructure, said that various suggestions and objections had been received since the suspension was announced and that these have given greater legal certainty by eliminating the possibility of retroactive application of law and by making the moratorium more comprehensible.
As from now, there will be full discussions with the whole of the retail sector, unions, consumer associations, environmental groups, the public, political parties and, in particular, town halls. It is the town halls which will have to implement the eventual plan for commercial centre developments.
Under the terms of the moratorium, a large development is defined as being greater than 700 square metres, although there are certain developments of up to 2,000 square metres that are not considered large developments, such as those for building materials or cars.
Also excluded from the new regulation are the establishment and expansion of individual commercial establishments located in large malls, provided that the expansion does not encroach upon communal space.
Today’s approval means that the draft of the plan for commercial centre developments can start, as the bases for this hadn’t previously been in place.