AN ISLAND off the coast of Formentera, the smallest of the Balearics is up for sale for €24 million.
S'Espalmador is separated from Formentera, the most diminutive inhabited island in the region, by a thin strip of land known as Es Pas, and is a green-belt area and nature reserve.
Rosy and Norman Cinnamond Planas, the grandchildren of British national Bernardo Cinnamond James – who bought S'Espalmador from Carlos Tur Roig in 1932 for 42,500 pesetas (about €250), say they have received numerous offers since they put their island up for sale in the summer.
A meeting with nearly every regional government minister, and with the owners represented by the son-in-law of one of the Cinnamonds, Mark Stücklin, concluded that the best solution would be for the State or the Parliament of the archipelago to buy it.
A spokesperson for the regional government said this 'would be magnificent', but that the price was 'too high'.
The original buyer's grandchildren admit the cost is 'a handicap' but say they are 'willing to negotiate'.
They say they would prefer the island to end up in public hands, meaning it could be visited by tourists and residents.
One possible route would be splitting the cost between the European Union, the State and the regional government, and Rosy and Norman say they are happy to accept staged payments.
With a long list of protection orders to its name, S'Espalmador is a natural habitat for birds and other wildlife, but suffers greatly from speedboats and other forms of water sports every summer.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com