Protect The Birds: End of the line for the golf course?

Have we come to the end of the Muro golf course saga? Almost certainly not, but the latest development is intended to put an end to it, once and for all. Or so it would seem.

The Balearic Government has approved the widening of a zone of special protection for birds, currently applied to the Albufera nature park, which will take in the Son Bosc finca where the golf development is planned. There is still a suggestion that this is not definitive, though it’s hard to see how it isn’t. From the reports, the word “inviable” stands out. Swap an “in” for an “un” and you have the English.

Ever since the change at governmental level which saw the environment ministry pass to the Mallorcan socialists, putting a stop to the golf course has been high on the agenda. A previous order seems not to have done the trick. Now comes the protection of birds one.

One can, with a degree of certainty, predict that those in favour of the course – the developers (i.e. Muro hoteliers) and the town hall – won’t take this lying down. It could well end up in the courts.

There is nothing in the least bit wrong with the extension of this protection, but the move smacks of finding anything behind which can be hidden what is surely the real impulse – that of politics. Why is this extension being sought now? The politics of, essentially, right versus left are so transparent as to be laughable. But if this is to be the end, then for God’s sake let it be the end. It won’t be.

Elsewhere in Muro, down on the playa, two vivid lime-green t-shirts loomed amongst the sunbathers the other day. They were being worn by two chaps who tramped across the sand up to where there are chalets by the beach, one of which has been abandoned for some years (a photo of which is on the HOT! Facebook page). One chap stayed in front of the abandoned building, just looking at it, while the other walked on a bit, looked at the other chalets, walked back, took his mobile from his pocket and gestured to his companion. They walked away. On the back of their t-shirts were the words “Demarcación de costas”.

What did it all mean? Maybe nothing, but the Costas have had their eye on Playa de Muro for a while and on buildings that may or may not have the right to be where they are.

Finally. Greatly removed, but the Moat thing has been given only little prominence by the Spanish media. Compare this with the coverage by the UK media. Rather extraordinary, rather like unfolding events during wars, listening – at a distance – to Five Live as the man on the riverside holds his gun and is surrounded by police. How extraordinary the analysis of when nothing much happens, the analysis of the situation and of the man himself. And how extraordinary that Gazza turned up. Which brings us back to the World Cup. Sunday will be mental. Like Gazza.

Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.

Ten Years After

So finally it would seem that the golf course in Muro is going ahead. It’s only been a decade or so. These things do tend to take some time, especially when there is so much environmental squabbling. But now the overseers of flora and fauna have said that the protection of the orchid seems guaranteed, and the environment ministry has effectively given the green light. The new mayor of Muro, Martí Fornes, has confirmed that, environmentally, everything is in order. Indeed his remarks have been reported in rather perfunctory fashion, as though he is saying that enough is enough. Good for him. Despite his connection to Grupotel, a key shareholder in the development, he is right to take a firm stance. If the development is to go ahead, then let’s get on with it. GOB, the environmental pressure group, is presumably rather green, suitably so you might say, around its organic gills.

 

Though I remain unconvinced as to the necessity of another golf course, there is nevertheless an argument in favour of the course as a potential generator of more tourism in Muro, and also in favour of a less tangible aspect – that of a general upgrading in the appeal of Muro and Playa de Muro. The latter already benefits from the sophistication of much of its hotel stock and from a more up-market style than some other places; the golf course can only enhance this.

 

Unconvinced as I have been as to the business case, I have never been particularly convinced by the environmental counter-argument. So long as certain species are protected, a golf course does not have to be environmentally harmful; indeed it can be the opposite. Habitats can remain unmolested alongside an environmental landscape change that, one hopes, has aesthetic appeal and style. 

 

Work on the course could begin as soon as September, assuming, that is, the enviro lobby doesn’t drag up even more objections. Yep, just get on with it.

 

Meanwhile, the hotel association of Playa de Muro’s website, the one that has been talking of the creation of a golf course for some while now, has yet to update the good news. But in its absence, there is something else that is a bit of an oddity. Welcoming all to Playa de Muro and to the “congresses” that can be enjoyed, it mentions that also at one’s disposal is the “recently built Alcúdia Auditorium”. How recent is recent? What is the year of the auditorium’s inauguration? About as long as they have been talking about the golf course. 1999.

 

 

Can Picafort’s frontline

And another green light. One in Can Picafort. A while back I mentioned the opening of the walkway from Son Bauló and remarked that rather more pressing was an upgrade of the frontline in Can Picafort. What do you know – three and a half million euros or so are to be spent doing just that. Work is due to start on 1 November and finish before May. There is some debate as to whether cyclists will be able to use the paseo; the plan seems to be exclusively for pedestrians. The bulk of the dosh is being stumped up by the environment ministry. Ah yes, now we know why the environment minister it was who cut the ribbon to open the Son Bauló phase.

 

 

Swine flu

Well sad to say that the first death has been recorded; a Nigerian woman in Palma. She had gone to emergency and been sent home with a prescription for paracetamol. Wasn’t quite enough it would seem.