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Many people wonder why some enormous tower blocks on the coast line such as for the hotels of Son Bou were authorized to be built. To the thinking of those days must be added the curious procedure of this case. GOB has consulted the original file and found interesting points.

The two tower blocks put up in 1973 were originally called Tamo and Laguna and in 1971 were the subject of a report made by the architect contracted by the Alaior Council, who acted as the municipal senior technical advisor and who was also in charge of the wording of the General Town and Country Planning order of that municipal area. This favoured report deserves to be known.

It says, amongst other things, “the protection of the landscape is total owing principally to the placing of the architectural edifice on an area thought out and studied, the composition obtained remaining integrated with the physical space around it and including being able to go ahead with the two vertical tower blocks placed in a position perpendicular to the coastline and contributing to the creation of the recommended landscape; not interfering with the views from the lookout points to the sea nor the views of the hills; the solution adopted completely negates the need to build a screen…”

Some conclusions which are very original and are difficult to understand when one has seen the effect of the hotels on this place.

To help understand these particular views when compared with the documentation presented in the case file it seems that this same person (who now is no longer with us) acted also against other petitions as attorney representing the owners of the Son Bou site. Certainly there was no law against incompatibility in 1971.

Now we know how they could put up these two massive, disproportionate tower blocks. Modernising them and keeping the height of 12 floors is now being discussed and would mean they could last some more decades. From GOB we are saying to the Melià Company that it is not logical to propose a project of this style in these times.

By clicking on this link, you too can write to the Melià Hotels and ask that they reconsider the current project.

As a result of this proposal being aired by the press, the company would now be willing to lower the height of the buildings if they can then build on the land on the front line adjoining the current hotels. They need to reflect on two basic points.

In the first place, the company says that it wants to modernise the two buildings according to the proposed project maintaining the current height.After the work was done (if they were allowed to build on the plots at the side) they would outline a part of the recently modernised upper floors in order to move the tower blocks onto other land. Difficult to believe in.

In the second place, these plots were declared not suitable for building in 2003 because of their environmental value on the beach front. This designation remains and is legally very complicated to transform into building land.

GOB hopes to set up a dialogue between Melià, the Consell Insular (Island Government) and the Planning Permission editorial team (which is the same as it was in 2003) to see if terrain further inland could be made of use.

In conclusion, the company has to understand that their idea to consolidate the tower blocks in Son Bou is not well received in Menorca.