Work on the beach club is under way. | Photo: Cati Amores
Andrew EdeManacor16/10/2026 10:04
Residents of Cala Mendia in Manacor are watching with concern as a large beach club starts to take shape. They have taken the developer and the town hall to court, challenging the legality of the planning permit. While they know the battle will be a long one - and that they will have to live alongside the club before a court ruling is reached - they insist they will fight to the end.
Miquel Àngel Riera, one of the affected residents, says: "We are deeply concerned about the problems this might cause - noise, overcrowding and the environmental impact on an area where we were always told that development potential was limited."
The root of the conflict lies in the interpretation of Manacor planning regulations when the permit was processed, prior to the approval of the current general plan. According to Riera, these regulations permitted certain uses but explicitly excluded "open-air" establishments. Residents argue that a beach club does not fall into the permitted category and that, therefore, the permit should never have been granted. Under the general plan as now is, the licence could not have been granted.
There are additional issues. "Cala Mendia is completely overwhelmed in the summer; there isn’t a single parking space to be found. We don't understand how we're now supposed to accommodate over a hundred more cars. Nor do we understand how, at a time when beach bars on coasts are being removed, there could be room for a project like this."
Legal proceedings could potentially drag on for years. If the lawsuit is eventually successful, demolition of the beach club would be the likely outcome. "But in that event, the developer would probably sue the town hall, and the town hall - which is to say, us, the citizens - would end up footing the bill."