Mallorca planning: Four properties in flood zones can be legalised

Torrents can and do burst their banks and cause flooding. | Archive

Andrew EdePalma16/12/2024 09:54

On Tuesday, the Balearic Parliament is expected to ratify an amendment to the government's administrative simplification decree that has contemplated building in areas prone to flooding and the legalisation of buildings already developed. The amendment, demanded by opposition parties, will remove the possibility of development and legalisation.

The decree came into force in May. The government has been asked for information regarding any licences for development or applications for legalisation since then. It says there have been four, all of them for legalisation.

The opposition have been concerned about a possible loophole that would allow development, but the government insists there isn't one and that the only permissions relate to these four cases since May.

The legalisation under the decree refers to properties on rustic land that were developed (many of them decades ago) but which don't appear on municipal registers; they were built without licences. The decree allows legalisation except where these properties are in areas that have protected status.