Munar calls for limit to population in Majorca

Maria Antonia Munar, the president of the Council of Majorca, said yesterday that a limit had to be put on the number of people coming to live in Majorca, “if not, the time will come when this won't be Majorca but Hong Kong.” Munar, whose Council has just slapped a building freeze on the island, was speaking after an audience with Balearic government leader Francesc Antich, which also included her counterparts in Minorca and Ibiza-Formentera. She said that she was in favour of “preserving and conserving“ the tourist industry because it provides a livelihood for everyone. Munar added that tourists had to “keep coming and filling the hotel places we have,” although she called for quality tourism and more controls. Commenting on her Council's building freeze, Munar defended it by saying “everyone speaks of an excess of growth and lack of resources, and every day we grow more, so that I think someone must define the model of planning and the limit of the population.” She also said that critics of the freeze, who believe that government-sponsored housing should have been exempt, “are only looking for an excuse to continue building.” Joana Barceló, the president of the council of Minorca, said that each Council had to draw up regulations in accordance with its needs, while Pilar Costa, president of Ibiza and Formentera, for her part, declined to comment as she had not read the text.