Can Morató in Pollensa, abandoned for almost sixty years. | Elena Ballestero

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A solution for the future of the long-abandoned Can Morató carpet factory in Pollensa may finally be edging closer. According to the mayor, Miquel Àngel March, various potential investors have been in touch with him and the councillor for urban planning, Tomeu Cifre Bennàsar, and expressed an interest in the building.

Can Morató was given protected status by the Council of Majorca, so it will have the final say on any purchase and on future use. Fundamentally, there has to be approval for its use to be changed, which won't in itself pose a problem. The issue will be precisely what an investor has in mind.

The most likely future use is either as a hotel or as some form of cultural centre. March says that as far as the town hall is concerned, it is important that priority is given to preservation. Cifre notes that it would preferably becoming somewhere for "the people to enjoy", suggesting that he is in favour of a cultural use.

The property has recently been tidied up a bit. The gardens have been cleared and the front has been spruced up. It remains the property of the Morató family who have previously tried to get the town hall to buy it. But a value of 2.3 million euros would be prohibitive.

Can Morató closed at the start of the 1960s. Dating from the early 1920s, it was once a thriving factory which produced many rugs and carpets for export. A few years ago, before the Council of Majorca stepped in, it seemed fated to be declared a ruin and have to be demolished: there were concerns about its safety, among other things. The Unesco World Heritage Site declaration for the Tramuntana has had some influence on its future. It was felt that if it were demolished, Unesco might redraft the boundaries of the heritage site.