The socialists of Sineu are demanding stricter limits to prevent mega-farms in the municipality.
The group is calling for a reduction in the maximum capacity of farms and an increase in the distance between facilities to protect the traditional agricultural model.
The Socialists of Sineu have submitted a series of objections this week to the proposed amendments to the Subsidiary Planning Regulations with a clear objective: to prevent the establishment of large, high-intensity livestock farms in the municipality. The proposal aims to limit the size of future farms and prevent the accumulation of several large-capacity facilities in the same area. According to the Socialists, the urban planning document currently open for public comment could allow new farms with up to 560 Gross Livestock Units (UBG), a threshold roughly equivalent to 40,000 laying hens in the case of poultry. This possibility would be included within the area located between two and four kilometers from urban centers, which, according to the Socialist Party (PSOE), would open the door to mega-farms. "A 40,000-laying-hen farm in Sineu would be excessive, and the new Subsidiary Regulations must prevent it," states the Socialist spokesperson in the municipality, José Manuel García, who proposes reducing the limit to 280 UBG. Defense of a traditional and family-based agricultural model
The group asserts that the establishment of large-scale intensive farms contradicts the town's productive essence. "We defend the agricultural model based on family farms and extensive agriculture, which is what has historically defined Sineu," García emphasizes. According to him, the regional decree allows for large facilities, but municipal planning regulations can limit them to protect the land. The Secretary General of the PSOE in Mallorca, Amanda Fernández, reinforces this position: "Government regulations allow for mega-farms, but that's not what the people of Sineu want, nor what we want." Minimum distance of one kilometer between farms
Another proposal suggests increasing the minimum distance between farms to one kilometer to avoid "cumulative effects" that, collectively, exceed the limit of 280 Livestock Units (LU). The aim is to prevent several nearby facilities from generating environmental impacts or problems of coexistence with the municipality. Furthermore, the Socialist group proposes introducing a new regulatory category: "Intensive Livestock Farm of Industrial Dimensions." This definition seeks to clearly differentiate large-scale facilities from extensive and family farms, applying the establishment and expansion restrictions only to the former.