Huge demand for building licences not expected

by Staff Reporter
BARTOMEU Vicens, head of the Council of Majorca's planning department, said yesterday he was convinced that the lifting of the current restrictions on construction on the island will not result in an “avalanche” of petitions for building licences. Vicens, who is also General Secretary of the political party Majorcan Union (UM), gave assurances that the Council has not at this stage put in place any “special mechanism” to cope with an overwhelming amount of applications for permits because “given the current economic climate, we foresee no such situation arising. “If it eventually were to happen, we would deal with it at the time” assured Vicens, who pointed out that the last time there was an excess of applications for building licences was precisely when “rumours of precautionary measures” were circulated. The new head of planning was speaking on the occasion of introducing key personnel in his department to whom he had entrusted the task of seeking the approval of the Council's Territorial Plan, albeit in its initial stages, by the end of the year. “We believe that enough background study has been made to draw up the project and a great deal of time has been spent going over it. We feel that the economy of the island needs a lifting of the restrictions.” He explained that apart from work leading to the approval of the government's Territorial Plan, other projects on his department's agenda included demonstrating to the public that land and environmental protection don't automatically imply economic crisis.