The Gelats Valls affair is heading for the courts.

The Gelats Valls affair is heading for the courts. | Efe

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPollensa03/09/2016 00:00
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The Gelats Valls ice-cream kiosk affair in Puerto Pollensa is arriving in the courts. The Inca court has accepted a suit being brought against the current mayor of Pollensa, Miquel Àngel March, his predecessor, Tomeu Cifre, and members of the ruling administration at the town hall as it was on 5 May 2015. They all face potential charges of malfeasance (abuse of public office).

The unnamed litigant bringing the action claims that there has been favouritism towards the owners of Gelats Valls in allowing them to continue with the business at the kiosk without there having been a public tender and without an order to vacate having been put into effect.

The complainant alleges that the town hall has favoured Gelats Valls in "an obvious and direct way that is detrimental to third parties and to the public interest".

The ice-cream kiosk, something of an emblem for Puerto Pollensa, has been operated by the Valls family for decades. In April this year, once it was made known (by the family) that there was an eviction order, an online petition raised thousands of signatures opposing this.

As for the significance of 5 May 2015, this was the date when the owners were awarded an extension for last summer but which did not extend to the current year. When the petition was raised, it was evident that the challenger to Gelats Valls was Grupo Boulevard, which operates the 1919 Café right next to it. The challenge has been based on the fact that the kiosk occupies the "public way" and so should be subject to public tender.

The town hall has not carried out the eviction order and has not initiated a tender.