Recently Onofre Rullan, the Director General of the coasts was interviewed regarding the situation at the Club de Vela, Andratx by a local newspaper. He is in charge of the ports and marinas which come under the direct control of the Balearic Government.
The Club de Vela, Andratx has made some excellent improvements during the 20 years in existence, is it totally impossible to extend the concession?
Yes, even if we wanted to. The law prohibits it and the administration cannot ignore it. When a concession regarding the use of a public property (land-marine) expires that is the end! It is not possible to add one day more.
As you, and many other people have said, the recreational and social work of the Club de Vela has been excellent but our opinions donīt count. The law does not take this into consideration.
Will this past work of the club be included in the decision to assign the new concession?
No we can not quantify this in the new bases of the new concession. It would be unfair to other petitioners for the concession.
When will the bases of the new concession be announced?
I have them on my desk at the moment and I expect them to be released very soon.
The nautical world is awaiting these new bases, can you tell us if there are any surprises?
They will be very similar to those in other communities. We have consulted with Andratx council and agreed that marinas should not be closed off from the rest of the paseo maritimos. They should be integrated with the urbanisation that they are part of. To give two examples; Club Nautico Porto Colom and Alcudiamar in Port dīAlcudia.
What will happen to the moorings? Will the owners have to move?
No. This is a mistake that has confused and alarmed people unnecessarily. For example when a concession ends the current users of the mooring can continue to enjoy its use. The only thing that will change is that the user cannot sell or transfer the right of use. It will be the administration that will assign new users upon death or for any other reason that a user ceases to use a mooring of 12 metres or less. The new user will be appointed according to the waiting list. The new concessionaires will collect money for services and maintenance etc.
Has it been decided if the administration (government) will take over the running of the clubs?
There have been unfounded rumours running around about this. The administration has no interest in directly running the clubs and marinas. This is demonstrated by the first ending of the concessions- Andratx and the fact that we are putting the concession out to public tender.
The Club De Velaīs concession ends early June. Are they obliged to leave the buildings etc? What about those people working there now?
First the workers. The new bases of the concession state that they should continue working in the new concession. They should not worry. As regards the transition period the new bases will incorporate a period of up to 12 months.I have already conveyed this to the Club de Velaīs management so that they can continue their plans and programmes until after this summer. We will always try to have a smooth transition from old to new concessionaires, and for the change over to be almost unnoticeable.