STOP BUILDING!

BY JASON MOORE WE'VE been promised plenty in this election campaign, from opera houses to new railway lines plus more doctors and nurses and even a lawn bowls competition. But the issue which hasn't been addressed is the excessive amount of building on the island. Everyone I talk to, is complaining about it from tourists to foreign residents to local cabbies and waiters. So why hasn't this issue become key in the local campaign. Any party which promises to reduce new building and end the concrete jungles which are springing up across the island would certainly get my vote. And I'm sure there are many people who feel the same. I would not support an indiscriminate full freeze but surely it must be getting to a point when the island has far more homes than people. Converting old hotels into apartments is an excellent idea and one which I feel the Balearic government should actively support. If we continue building on the scale that we are doing it could endanger the future prosperity of the island. Who wants to buy an expensive home which is surrounded by concrete jungles? This should be an all party issue, surely enough is enough. While the building industry is one of the engines of the local economy it could come back to haunt us in the near future.