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Despite all the countless declarations of love for the land, there are still initiatives in Menorca’s rural areas that consistently seek maximum real estate returns, at the risk of significantly altering the island’s territorial reality.

A territory that, we were told, had captivated developers precisely because it was well-preserved. Yet influential figures keep pushing limits, even when projects would be profitable with fewer interventions, or when investors already have ample financial capacity.

This issue arises because in recent weeks, like late winter mushrooms, projects have emerged in Menorca’s countryside that aim to rely on the regulation in force between 2015 and 2017, known as the Transitional Territorial Regulation.

Why do they want to rely on it? Because it did not limit the number of swimming pools, did not define their size, did not require buildings converted to tourist use to have a certain age, and did not limit the number of agrotourism beds. It was the perfect regulation for speculation on Menorca’s rural land, the last great untapped prize in the Balearic Islands.

This later changed, as it became clear that the regulation’s laxity led to abuses, such as newly built livestock sheds being converted into tourist rooms, agrotourism establishments with over 100 beds in areas without sewage systems, or one swimming pool per room in a territory with limited water resources.

The strategy now being proposed is to rely on the date when the first documents were submitted, so that the regulation in force at that time can be applied. However, the law states that the applicable regulation is determined not by when the file is opened, but by when all the required documentation has been submitted.

It is difficult to know the real intentions behind a current application that seeks to rely on regulations from ten years ago. Several hypotheses can be considered. One possibility is that the promoter is the victim of poor technical advice, encouraged to submit proposals that will not be viable.

Another possibility is that all parties are fully aware of the deficiencies but hope to find a public official willing to turn a blind eye in exchange for some form of compensation.

A third theory is that making such requests today is a way of conveying to those in power the interests of this type of investor, that is, the specific changes they want introduced into current regulations to avoid obstacles.

The depletion of wells, the conversion of buildings constructed with public agricultural subsidies, and the gradual urbanisation of the countryside are details that are rarely highlighted, as they would tarnish the elegant veneer used to present these operations. Yet they are key to distinguishing worthwhile investments that can revive agricultural activity and architectural heritage from those that prioritise the real estate revaluation of the property.

In situations like this, formal civic action through participation in administrative procedures is important to help redress the balance. Equally important is closely scrutinising any changes proposed to the current territorial planning in order to determine which of the hypotheses outlined is the most accurate.

 

(This text is an adaptation of the original article published by Miquel Camps, as coordinator of territorial policy for the GOB, in the Menorca newspaper on 19/01/2026).