Balneario 4 in Playa de Muro is at the end of the road that passes by the Eden Playa Hotel. It has been closed for seven years, over which time its condition has deteriorated. To get it back into working order, investment of some 270,000 euros will be needed.
Muro town hall calculates that losses it has incurred because of the restaurant's closure amount to around 200,000 euros. These include a debt of 85,000 euros owed by the previous concessionaire, experience with whom has created a bad taste at the town hall. The delegate for Playa de Muro, councillor Marga Ballester, says that the balneario was left in "a very poor condition and so has not been able to reopen".
Miquel Àngel Tortell of Més (in opposition at the town hall) refers to the "precedent" set by what happened with Balneario 4. This saddled the town hall with debt. In order to prevent a recurrence, the opposition has been pressing for a future concessionaire to pay a hefty bond.
This will now be the case, as the town hall is at last getting round to put the concession out to tender. The winning bidder will have to pay a 300,000 euros bond and assume the cost of renovation. The tender will be for 533,000 over ten years but with an exemption from payment of the annual charge in exchange for carrying out the work.
The official start of the tourism season (May 1) is now less than three months away. Nevertheless, the mayor, Miquel Porquer, is optimistic that any interested company will be able to undertake the work needed on time.