INCA THEME PARK REFERENDUM PLAN

By Humphrey Carter THE Mayor of Inca, Pere Rotger, who just a few days ago said that Inca does not want the Evolution Theme Park, yesterday said that, in the event of Calvia or any other local council expressing a serious interest in the project, he will hold a referendum. Clearly Rotger does not want Inca to miss out on the project and also urged the Council of Majorca to come clean on where it stands over the 200 million-euro project which was unveiled in Palma this week. The Mayor of Inca was quick to point out yesterday that the Theme Park Group owns an option to purchase a proposed site in Inca and that while in Calvia, the council is a Partido Popular (PP), Majorcan Union (UM) coalition “here in Inca the PP has a majority and in the case of the people voting in favour of the project in a referendum, the council will be able to give the park its green light swiftly,” he said. “A referendum is the best solution. “I was the first to spot the various benefits of the project, although there are some negative points, but by calling a referendum we can decide what we like and don't like and then come to an agreement with the project developers,” he added. Deane Sinclair, the Director of Marketing for the Theme Park Group, said yesterday that the company is extremely keen to discuss all matters and while a project has been presented “it is obviously open to suggestions and modification to meet the needs of the people. “This is still only a proposal,” he said. While opposition in Inca has been nominal, Calvia's interest in the project sparked protests yesterday from the Greens and the PSM, Majorcan Nationalist party. The Green party claims that the project is “environmentally unsustainable” and must not be built in Calvia.” In an official statement the Greens proclaimed “the Mayor of Calvia, Carlos Delgado, has clearly expressed his interest in building in Calvia. It appears that the Partido Popular wants the population to keep on growing to keep the economy going, hence why the airport is being expanded and more motorways are being built, eating up the land and natural resources.” The Greens claim that Calvia needs more parks and green zones as opposed to developments. The PSM accused Calvia council of only being interested in “easy money and not the environment.” The Majorcan Nationalists said that the council is being “irresponsible.” “How many lanes is the motorway between Palma and Peguera going to need to handle all the traffic heading to the park?” the PSM asked. The party also claimed that the development of the park will be carried out by large companies and warned the local small and medium construction companies against getting excited as they will not be involved. Apart from the 2'500 to 3'000 new jobs the park will create, the PSM also fear that the park will attract an extra 5'000 new residents to the area, “the local population will grow so fast, Calvia will not be able to cope,” the party claimed. “Calvia is already considered an area where the population is growing out of control, thanks to the previous PSOE council, now we are wondering if the PP-UM council is going to permit the same rate of growth.” The theme park has already become a talking point, but some people are worried that, having lost the America's Cup to Valencia, just across the water, Majorca cannot really afford to lose out on another project which will attract serious investment, create new jobs and help guarantee the future of the tourist industry. What is more, the Majorcans have a real chance of being involved in the final design of the project. The Mayor of Inca may well have set a precedent with his idea of a theme park referendum and maybe other councils will follow suit.