At Thursday's council meeting in Alcudia, there was criticism of a lack of progress being made on the mainland electricity cable, the location of which has aroused considerable controversy and protest.
A motion tabled by María Ramos of Unidas Podemos demanding greater transparency in negotiations with Spain's ministry for ecological transition and the publishing of available information on the cable project was rejected. A consensus among political parties at the town hall regarding the cable was therefore broken.
Ramos reminded the council that there was unanimous approval in December 2022 in calling for a commission to study alternatives to the layout of the cable. This commission would comprise all relevant authorities plus Red Electrica, the national grid company.
Although there are residents who are against the cable full stop, the arguments have been and continue to be the point of entry in Alcudia and the land route to the substation on the industrial estate. As to the point of entry, all proposals for the Bay of Pollensa have met with stiff opposition, the preference being the Bay of Alcudia.
Mayor Fina Linares said there is "permanent contact" with the Balearic government on the matter and with the residents' group that opposes the project (VAAC). "But we cannot commission a study until we have a concrete layout on the table." The VAAC fears that everything has in fact been decided.
Domingo Bonnín, who was mayor before the elections in May last year, observed: "We are in the same situation as a year ago, the only difference now being that the residents' platform doesn't come to protest at council meetings."
The lack of progress is undeniable. Decisions have to be made as the Spanish government's timetable is for the cable to be operative by 2027. It is calculated that it will take two years to lay the cable from Valencia to Mallorca.
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Whether you care about the environment or not, the Spainish Government state that this cable should be no closer to peoples homes than 200 metres. The proposed route is 2 in some points. It won’t kill people immediately, obviously. But it could do long term damage to the health of children. That’s got to be wrong, in anyone’s book. Personal - I’m not effected. But I care. I just wish more people, in particular the council did.
Joe MilesNot really Joe. Most Alcudians are fine about the cable but it’s planned route is catastrophic. There are no torrents for it to follow, or anything like that. It is proposed to pass through residential areas and areas of outstanding natural beauty, when it could far more easily just go around the headland and straight to the substation. That’s what is annoying everyone, it makes no sense.
Wow ,what a bunch of nimbys.a cable was laid from Barcelona that went straight up the beach of Santa ponsa ,up by the torrente and into the polígono,no deaths have been reported ,it’s a cable after all.
Great piece Andrew. Absolutely no information forthcoming on the dreaded cable. The route is insane - cuts across one of the last remaining unspoilt areas of countryside in Northern Mallorca. Why this coastal area is not being protected is beyond belief. And why the councillors are not fighting tooth and nail to protect this environmental haven is completely beyond any resident. One has to question the council’s motives. This area is rare. Local children have swam and enjoyed learning about nature here for decades. The cable (no one talks about safety) is supposed to be 200 metres from homes (that’s government guidelines) - so that would indicate to me, it’s really not that safe. This is bigger than Alcúdia - this is about protecting the natural environment on Mallorca. It’s an important statement about where the island is headed. If this cable goes ahead - Mallorca is doomed :(
No one is ever transparent here about pretty much anything. It’s not hard to guess why. The backhanders, dirty dealings, petty prejudices and bare-faced lies would all come to light. Even the Protest group is full of posturing, all talk and no (real) action types. And continuing with the cynical tone about the Govt and Red, they’ll probably just go ahead and do what they want anyway.