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STAFF REPORTER

CAMPOS
A STUDY undertaken by the Balearic University has proposed that Campos should be compensated by the regional government to the tune of 2.1 million euros annually for not having developed its pristine coastline for the tourist industry.

Doctors of Economy, Antoni Costa and Onofre Martorell presented the results of their research to the people of Campos yesterday, which analyses how the protection of its coastline has impacted on the municipality's economic standing. Similar investigations have been undertaken in other areas of the Balearic Islands which have also not undergone touristic development for reasons of protecting outstanding natural environment. Such municipalities include Arta on Majorca and Sant Joan de Llabritja on Ibiza.

The economists consider that those areas affected by inability to benefit from tourism not only have the future of their urban planning restricted for reasons of coastal protection, but they are at an economic disadvantage because the opportunity is not there for local councils to collect the level of taxation which would be due to them were they in zones which have undergone touristic development. This “under par” municipal financing, say Martorell and Costa, means that greater pressure to pay for public services is placed on local residents, that debt levels increase or conversely, the area suffers a decline in the quality of public services.