Inca theme park is rejected by Council planners

The Council of Majorca have thwarted plans by an unknown Danish multi-national company to build a theme park on the outskirts of Inca. A council planning committee rejected the proposal yesterday on the grounds that it would be an enormous environmental eyesore, it would cause serious traffic problems and also it would be too near a large urban area. The Danish company was preparing to invest many millions of euros in the project which would create hundreds of new jobs, in a part of the island known as an unemployment blackspot. A council spokesman said yesterday “after looking at the plans we have decided to reject the proposal. If the project went ahead the present Inca/Alcudia road would not be able to support the additional traffic, the railway network would be saturated. Also, the land involved is of great natural importance.” The theme park the first of its type in Majorca, and similar to ones which already exist on the mainland would have been built on an area measuring 420'000 square metres and the promoters expected it to attract one million people a year. Supporters also said that it would help put the Inca area on the map as a major tourist centre. It also comes at a time when climate changes in Majorca mean that you can't always expect sunny weather leading to the age-old problem, of what to do in Majorca when it rains. Last summer was a clear example with August being one of the wettest on record and tourists complaining that if you take the sun out of Majorca there is little to do. On mainland Spain, especially on the western coast a number of massive theme parks have been built which have proved popular with residents and tourists alike. However, the Council of Majorca's decision appears to be final and the theme park looks as if it is going the same way as Sir Richard Branson's luxury hotel in Banyalbufar which was also rejected by the same committee. Branson's project, which involved transforming an abandoned manor house into a luxury hotel with an investment of 25 million dollars, would have created in excess of 100 new jobs. The leader of the Council of Majorca, Maria Antonia Munar, has a softer line on planning than her colleagues in the Balearic government. She has recently been quoted as saying that more yacht clubs and golf courses needed to be built if the island was to attract a higher spending tourist. This is against Balearic government policy and at present there is a complete ban. Many building companies and real estate firms are concerned at the tough line the local authorities are taking on planning and development. They believe that the future of the island is being put at stake. The Balearic government argues that enough is enough and claims that some parts of the island resemble concrete jungles. Environmentalists say that the Balearic government hasn't gone far enough and have called for much stricter planning regulations.