Traders fail to agree on Inca development

THE Shopkeepers' Association of Inca is to circulate a letter amongst 500 traders in the town asking their opinion on the proposed construction of a commercial centre. The move comes following a special meeting of the association last night, held to debate the issue, but which ended without any agreement being reached. Its leader, Josep Nicolau, was confident that “when we have replies to the letter, it will be possible to declare an official position, because last night there was such a wide range of conflicting views”. A total of 50 traders attended the meeting where representatives of the commercial centre's promoters, headed up by lawyer Miguel Céspedes, explained part of the project to the group. The occasion was held “behind closed doors” because the promoters were anxious not to let rival organisations have the chance to copy their ideas. However, the outline of the plan described by Céspedes included the construction of a cinema complex, some 100 shops with the option of incorporating a leisure area in the 25'000 square metre project. A chief characteristic of the commercial centre's design is that it will be a “closed” premises along the lines of the Porto Pi centre in Palma, quite distinct from the shopping and leisure facilities at Festival Park. Traders were not able to form a united body of opinion on the proposed development even though some association directors representing the interests of small and medium-sized businesses on the Islands were against the “Americanisation” of shopping and leisure activities.