With the Netflix series Turn Up Charlie about to be released, the debate about access to La Fortalesa in Puerto Pollensa has restarted. The estate was used for filming, but it is off-limits to the general public, despite it being an asset in the cultural interest.
Pollensa's mayor, Miquel Àngel March, has lost patience with the Council of Majorca and its attempts to come to some arrangement with the owner for visits by the public. March wants the Council to act with greater urgency in imposing an obligatory system for visits. "If the owner then wishes to appeal against this, then he can, but visits are covered under the law on heritage."
The first trailers for the series include party scenes at La Fortelesa and these have only served to add to local frustration. The law, at a minimum, allows for visits on four days each month. The frustration and the demand for visits have grown in recent years because La Fortelesa has acquired more and more of a reputation, mainly because of its use as a filming location. It has also been used for celebrity events, such as basketball star Rudy Fernández's wedding.
The mayor says that it used to be a public place. This was until it was "privatised", as was the case with other fortifications in Majorca, including the Castell del Rei in Pollensa.
Although the town hall doesn't have competence in the matter, more than a year ago it sent a draft agreement for regulating visits to the Council of Majorca that was a copy of the one that has been applied successfully to the Son Torrella olive mill and press in Santa Maria. This is also privately owned and an asset in the cultural interest.
March argues that the town hall has made it possible for there to be an agreement for La Fortalesa visits. But as the owner has come up with various excuses, the Council has to take the "direct route" and impose a system for visits.
The strategic location of La Fortalesa has provided the main argument against visits. In order to get to the estate, the military base had to give permission. However, the ministry of defence and the town hall found a way of authorising regulated visits, meaning that access was not an impediment.