Are planning procedures in Mallorca about to get simpler?

The PP believe that this commission creates a bottleneck for the processing of projects; it can take years for there to be resolution. The party has long criticised the commission for acting according to political rather than technical criteria. Its title almost implies a body independent of government, which isn't the case. Under the previous government, it came under the environment ministry.

The real-estate sector has had its issues with the commission, the president of the Proinba developers association, Luis Martín, having once proposed "setting fire" to it.

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This won't be necessary, as the government intends getting rid of the commission, the principal purpose of which is the environmental evaluation of projects. The functions will be assumed by a senior official at the housing ministry.

As currently constituted, the commission comprises its president, ten director-generals of government departments, representatives from the islands' councils and from town halls, plus three others who have been appointed by the environment minister for their competence in environmental matters. In addition, there are two technical subcommittees with 21 members each.

The disappearance of the commission will be part of a reformulation of the environmental evaluation procedure for planning and projects. National legislation requires prior environmental evaluation, and this will be complied with, but organisational changes will mean the elimination of what the government considers to be "unjustifiable and recurring delays and possible sources of arbitrariness".