Alaior also hides dossier on the illegal swimming pools

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The Alaior Council is drifting dangerously into lack of transparency. First, they denied access to the files on the modernisation of the Son Bou hotels project and now they have repeated this behaviour over the case of the Torre Vella Agrotourism Hotel, where the inspectors have found various irregularities.

Access to public documents is regulated. Great efforts were taken to end bad practices that, especially on urban and environmental subjects, tended to end in legal actions. However, European legislation obliges regulation to be adopted at state and regional levels.

Today, an association like GOB has the right to consult the relative dossiers on environmental aspects and on any proposed urbanisation. As will be remembered, the case of the Torre Vella Agrotourism became news because the inspectors of the Island Consortium on town planning found, as a result of a written report from GOB, seven illegal swimming pools and some 2,700 square metres of unauthorised concreted paths and terraces.

Subsequent inspections by the Environment Agents checked on the opening of some roads that had been expressly prohibited by the Balearic Council of the Environment as well as the existence of two rubbish dumps of materials that were affecting 2,000 square metres of a protected area.

The Consortium agreed a Resolution to fines of 486,844 euros for each of those responsible:  the promoter, the builder and the architect director of the work.

The fact is that the promotors presented a project for authorization to the Town Council. GOB has been asking since March to be able to consult this agrotourism dossier to see the new documentation but the Mayor has answered that access cannot be allowed because the dossier is not yet complete.

Following this interpretation, persons and lawyers who have their interests in this case on file, would not be able to see the dossier until a resolution on it was adopted. This is indefensible and contradicts the regulation that requires interested parties to give their opinions before decisions are made.