A winery, six buildings, a thousand meters of wall

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The case of the winery to be built on the Torralba site of Ciutadella, has become famous for proposing the construction of eight new buildings in order to service the winery.

After the resulting unfavourable reports, they divided up the operation. First, they built two new buildings of some 350 square meters each to service the vineyard and now they are proposing a new phase with another four buildings.

It must be remembered that Torralba was one of the first cases of agro tourism where all the original buildings of the estate were made over for tourist use. The promoters promptly gave notice that they would construct new buildings for agricultural use.

If they do not retain a percentage of the original buildings for agricultural use, then adding new buildings without limit in the countryside is dangerous. It must be remembered that a large part of the work of promoters, in Torralba amongst others, is the social responsibility of their building activities.

In Torralba about a thousand meters of dry stone walling has been removed from the Red Natura 2000 (network of nature protection areas in the European Union). Dry stone walling is a Cultural Inheritance recognised by UNESCO. It is easy to take down walls mechanically, but it is very difficult and costly to put them up.

GOB has filed a formal complaint and warned that this project is being processed in parts, thus avoiding analysis of the whole and on the effects of any cooperative relationships. GOB also draws attention to the fact that the proposed new installations are in an area classified as high fire risk by the Fire Prevention Plan.