The Urban Planning Department of the Palma City Council has granted a permit this Tuesday to demolish the building located at number 27 on 31 de Diciembre street, a construction designed by the architect Gaspar Bennàssar, with the condition of preserving the facade. The action will allow for the construction of a new multi-family building with a total of 15 homes, as well as parking spaces and storage rooms.

The Palma City Council has taken a new step towards the transformation of Plaça Major, aiming to open the underground galleries and turn them into an open agora. The Cort Governing Board approved this Wednesday the contracting file for the drafting service of the integral works project that will develop the ‘Àgora’ preliminary project, aimed at improving Plaça Major, its lower floors, and its surroundings.The contract also includes the technical direction of the works and will be processed by means of a negotiated procedure without prior publication. The base tender budget is 1.4 million euros (VAT included) and the action will be partially financed with funds from the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS).

The Palma City Council has taken a new step in the transformation of the Plaza Mayor, aiming to open the underground galleries and turn them into an open agora. The Cort Governing Board approved this Wednesday the tender for the drafting service of the integral construction project that will develop the 'Agora' preliminary project, aimed at improving the Plaza Mayor, its lower floors, and its surroundings.The contract also includes the technical direction of the works and will be processed through a negotiated procedure without prior publication. The base tender budget is 1.4 million euros (VAT included) and the action will be partially financed with funds from the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS).

The Palma City Council has assured that it does not plan to reinforce the Social Services area due to the regularization process for migrants promoted by the central government and has defended that the service “is functioning normally”, despite the queues recorded these days at the citizen service offices (OAC).

The Palma City Council has assured that it does not foresee reinforcing the Social Services area following the migrant regularization process promoted by the central government and has defended that the service “functions normally”, despite the queues registered these days in the citizen service offices (OAC).

The Governing Board of Cort has approved this Wednesday the award of temporary concessions to exploit the beaches of Cala Major, Platja de Palma and Can Pere Antoni for the period 2026-2029. In parallel, the council has excluded the bidder who was applying for Ciutat Jardí for not having submitted the required technical and financial documentation.

The Cort Governing Board approved this Wednesday the award of temporary concessions to operate the beaches of Cala Mayor, Playa de Palma, and Can Pere Antoni for the period 2026-2029. In parallel, the council has excluded the bidder who was applying for Ciudad Jardín for not having submitted the required technical and financial documentation.

The Germans Escales municipal sports center will undergo a complete renovation that will transform the facilities entirely, with an investment of over €6.2 million and a project divided into two phases.

One of the businessmen vying to manage several beaches in Palma has accumulated unpaid bills from municipalities where he previously held similar concessions, specifically in Calvià and Son Servera. However, Palma City Council maintains that there are no legal grounds to prevent him from obtaining a new concession, as the company that has submitted a bid is different from the one that operated in these municipalities. According to municipal spokesperson Mercedes Celeste, who confirmed the information after the Governing Board meeting, the City Council is aware of the published reports about the businessman and has consulted with the other affected municipalities. According to the information received, the company participating in the Palma tender is not the same one that managed the beaches in Calvià and Son Servera, even though both are reportedly linked to the same individual. The case came to light following a report published this Wednesday by [unclear - possibly "newspaper/newspaper/etc.]" Daily of MallorcaThis indicates that this businessman is vying for the concession to operate four of the five beaches up for tender in the municipality. In the case of Ciutat Jardí, he is the only applicant, which could increase his chances of winning the concession.

The Government has put out to tender a contract worth 1.3 million euros to outsource the drafting and processing of reports for the Directorate General of Water Resources With the aim of streamlining procedures, especially those related to housing construction projects, the decision comes at a time of intense pressure from the development sector, which has been complaining for months about delays in water impact reports. These delays are hindering the granting of licenses and the start of construction in a context of soaring demand for housing. The President of the Balearic Government, Marga Prohens, defended the measure in Parliament a week ago, asserting that it reflects the Executive's commitment to addressing administrative bottlenecks. "Our government program pledged to tackle these bottlenecks," she reminded the assembly, also highlighting decisions made at the beginning of the legislative term with the same objective. In this regard, Prohens cited the elimination of the Balearic Environmental Commission, which placed environmental impact assessments in the hands of technical experts rather than a politically appointed body. According to the president, this reform has allowed for an 82% increase in the pace of reports in the first year and a 36% increase in the second. "If it's yes, it's yes; if it's no, it's no, but now in a more agile, more objective, and more rigorous way," she stated. Now, the focus is on Water Resources, a department that, according to the Government, had accumulated delays of up to three and a half years when the legislature began. The Executive maintains that activity has doubled in two and a half years, partly due to the increase in files resulting from measures approved to promote affordable housing, such as the conversion of commercial premises, limited-price developments, and new public housing projects. Complaints from developers

The reality is that developers have lodged complaints with the Government because, on the one hand, regulations and solutions are announced, but on the other, construction projects are not moving forward. The developers' complaints have reached the Consolat de Mar (the seat of the Balearic Government), where the decision has been made to outsource the reports. Government sources anticipate criticism regarding a lack of oversight and assure that "all authorizations will be signed and reviewed by the Administration, as expected." The decision, therefore, is not without debate. Outsourcing reports in such a sensitive area as public water resources—key in a territory with limited resources and subject to intense urban development pressure—is seen by some sectors as a double-edged sword. While it may help shorten deadlines and unblock projects, it also raises questions about public oversight, the uniformity of criteria, and the Administration's capacity to supervise the work commissioned to external companies. Declarations of responsibility

The Government asserts that it has increased resources, modified the internal structure—creating a specific service for managing public water resources and another for planning, works, and maintenance—established different processing queues according to the type of file, and reinforced the teams with support from Tragsa. It has also promoted electronic administration and processing through self-declarations in cases where regulations allow. According to Prohens, these measures have reduced the backlog of files by more than 50%. However, the Government believes they are insufficient to handle the current volume and anticipates that outsourcing will further boost processing. The outsourcing announced by the Government is thus part of a broader administrative reform strategy aimed at reducing processing times and facilitating economic activity, especially in the housing sector. The fundamental question is to what extent this streamlining can be reconciled with maintaining guarantees in the management of a strategic resource like water, which is currently in a critical situation in the Islands.

]]>

The Palma City Council plenary session approved a motion this Thursday, with votes in favor from the People's Party (PP) and Vox, calling on the governing team to prohibit women who cover their faces with burkas, niqabs, or equivalent garments from entering municipal buildings. The initiative, championed by Santiago Abascal's party, was modified through a PP amendment to extend the ban to buses operated by the Municipal Transport Company (EMT). The text was approved in its entirety. In general terms, the proposal urges the City Council to require anyone entering a municipal building to do so with their face uncovered "for reasons of security and identity verification." The document defines "complete face covering" as that produced by garments or clothing that totally or substantially prevent facial identification.

]]>

The Palma City Council has begun the process of expropriating the premises located in the basement of the Plaza Mayor, with an approximate total budget of 4.2 million euros. This was announced on Wednesday by the municipal spokesperson, Llorenç Bauzá, after the Governing Board meeting.

]]>

The Palma City Council has approved a motion from the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) to commission a technical feasibility study for burying the ring road. The initiative passed with the support of all municipal groups except Vox, which voted against it, and echoes a proposal already approved a few weeks ago by the Consell de Mallorca (Island Council of Mallorca).

]]>

The conflict between Palma City Council and the Local Police over the delay in implementing the urban planning plan has resurfaced this Thursday at the municipal plenary session With a strong intervention from Socialist councilwoman Angélica Pastor, who denounced a "flagrant violation of labor rights" and an "arbitrary" management of the officers' mobility by the PP governing team, with the "complicit silence" of Vox. Meanwhile, around one hundred officers They have gathered in Cort Squarefor denouncing the repeated failure of the mayor, Jaime Martínez, to keep his promises.

]]>

Residents of Palma and the citizens' platform in defense of the beautiful shade trees will continue their protests to demand accountability from the Palma City Council (Cort) for the felling of 17 trees in Plaça de Llorenç Villalonga. "We will not stop," affirmed Nina, a member of the Canamunt Neighborhood Association. They also announced plans for further actions to denounce "the unnecessary mass felling, the refusal to take a less drastic approach, the lack of transparency, the absence of citizen participation, and the speed with which the felling was carried out," among other things, explained the president of the La Calatrava Neighborhood Association. The residents requested an urgent meeting with the mayor of Palma, Jaime Martinez, to initiate a dialogue and halt any similar actions to those taken in Plaça de Llorenç Villalonga. Citizens are accusing the City Council of violating the Organic Regulations for Citizen Participation by failing to provide them with reports detailing the poor condition of the trees and by rejecting the alternative proposals they submitted to the council to avoid removing the trees. The coordinators of the initiatives have not specified the nature of the activities because, they believe, "the element of surprise is very important." With these demands, the citizens intend to ask the City Council a series of questions that challenge and question its actions. "Were 17 diseased trees planted in a year and a half? Why, if the trees posed such a high risk of falling, wasn't the plaza closed to traffic during the massive festival for the town's patron saint or during the wine fair held in the Parque del Mar?" Navarro asked.

]]>

The Platform in Defense of the Bellasombra Trees, made up of various neighborhood associations and environmental groups, will denounce the Palma City Council's "manipulations" regarding the felling of 18 trees in Llorenç Villalonga Square. They will do so at a press conference to be held next Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at Can Alcover, the platform announced in a statement. The purpose of the event is to publicly denounce the "manipulations" contained in the press conference held by the Palma City Council to explain the reasons for the tree removal, the "complete lack" of genuine citizen participation, and the "serious irregularities" in the announced participatory processes.

]]>

The local police in Palma want to carry out a major review of their duties, working conditions and, of course, their salariesIt's legitimate for them to want to improve their working conditions. However, after reading the documentation from their representatives, one point seems particularly worrying. The specific supplement of €31,000 gross, currently paid to those with extremely high levels of danger, risk, and specialization, is now being considered for universal application. This means that nearly 800 members of the force, some of whom perform respectable work but without any specialization or risk, also aspire to this compensation.

]]>

Palma will implement traffic restrictions in the city center this Saturday, January 10, to mark the start of the San Sebastián 2026 festivities. The closures will affect several streets around the Plaza de Cort, where the traditional opening ceremony of the festivities will take place, with the aim of ensuring the safety of attendees.

]]>