The Balearic government has started the process of environmental regeneration of the space that was occupied for twelve years by the illegal chiringuito beach bar at Cala Varques, Manacor. A court order led to its demolition in September last year.
The regeneration is required because the high numbers of people who used the chiringuito led to erosion. The environment ministry has opted for a specific intervention, given the difficulty of natural regeneration by indigenous plants.
The project is in two phases. The first, which took two weeks and has been completed, has involved the installation of seventy metres of wooden poles to prevent access. This enclosure has been reinforced with stones and plant material from the area, while there has also been planting of junipers. The plant material will stabilise the soil.
The second phase will be this autumn and will focus on reforestation. The environment minister, Miquel Mir, says that the project will recover an "emblematic area of Mallorca which, in recent years, has been subjected to inappropriate overcrowding, partly due to an illegal business".