Puerto Pollensa's pinewalk has long been popular for its rental accommodation as well as hotel. | Andrew Ede

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Mayor Miquel Àngel March recently gave assurances that he doesn't believe there will be much zoning of holiday rentals in Pollensa. Despite these assurances, he voted in favour of a motion raised by ex-mayor Tomeu Cifre's Tots per Pollença at Thursday's council session.

The Tots motion was that the tourism law should not place zoning restrictions on Pollensa because of the great concern that such restrictions would create. It called for a "significant" number of the rental places (some 42,000 or so in total for the whole island, which includes all types of accommodation) to be given to Pollensa.

The motion was carried overwhelmingly by fifteen votes to two. The Alternativa per Pollença voted against. The party is the principal flag waver against "massification" in Pollensa, while it makes the point - legitimately - about the impact of holiday rentals on the regular market for rentals. March has himself voiced just this worry.

Will the passing of the motion do any good? The zoning decisions are wrapped up in the Council of Majorca's plan for intervention in tourism areas (PIAT). More about this plan should be known before the end of the year. Zones might not be set in stone, but they will be difficult to alter. Town halls, which will actually implement the allocation of places according to the zoning guidelines, have no room to manoeuvre in terms of challenging the Council's decisions and seeking an increase in allocation. They can request fewer places but not more.

The reliance on rentals in Pollensa, as explained many times, is indicated by the fact it is unique among coastal municipalities in having more legal rental places than hotel places. As for the overall supply of holiday rental places (legal or not), there are more per head of population in Pollensa than anywhere else in the country. Or were.