The Palma City Council's renaturalization plan for Plaça Llorenç Villalonga calls for the replanting of 35 trees. This represents an increase of 10 trees compared to the square's original tree population. These 35 trees will be added to the 6 palm trees already existing in the square, bringing the total to 41 trees, according to the city's proposal. The pruning of the beautiful shade trees in December 2025 sparked a great deal of controversy, mainly due to complaints from neighbors..

Residents' associations in the Calatrava neighborhood have expressed their strong opposition to the felling of the beautiful shadows of the Plaza de Llorenç Villalonga They have criticized the lack of conclusive technical reports justifying the action taken by the Palma City Council. In a statement, they assert that, at present, no documents have been provided that clearly demonstrate either the condition of the trees or the need for their removal.

The recent felling of several beautiful shade trees in Palma has generated strong controversy among residents, green space professionals, and environmental organizations, who question the technical reasons justifying what they consider an excessive action. Several experts doubt that the removed trees presented serious pathologies or a state of deterioration that would have made radical felling necessary, and they demand greater transparency regarding the reports and prior studies.

The Spanish Association of Arboriculture (AEA) has questioned the felling of several beautiful shade trees this Thursday by the Palma City Council in Llorenç Villalonga Square, citing technical safety reasons. The organization has demanded greater technical and scientific rigor from the council regarding the removal of trees considered part of the Balearic capital's heritage.

The City Council cut down the 18 beautiful shade trees in Llorenç Villalonga Square this Thursday morning. Despite the complaints, demonstrations and administrative appeals From the neighbors and entities, Cort, which on Tuesday received judicial authorization from the Administrative Court number 4 of Palma, has decided to cut them down.

The residents of Catalatrava, organized in a citizens' platform against the felling of the 18 bellasombra trees in Plaça de Llorenç Villalonga, have again demanded that Palma City Council grant them access to the complete file justifying the action, as well as time to analyze it and the opportunity to submit independent technical reports. They assert that, at present, neither the residents nor external experts have been able to examine the documentation or assess whether alternatives to the felling have been considered. According to their complaint, the City Council has merely stated that "municipal reports exist" warning of a safety risk, but without providing their content. "When an action is irreversible, affects mature urban trees, and generates significant public outcry, transparency is not a courtesy, it is an obligation," they maintain. The recent court ruling that upholds the felling—which the platform has already announced it will appeal—is based exclusively on the reports provided by the City Council itself. The court does not assess whether these studies are comprehensive, whether they meet European standards, or whether alternative measures exist. "It is accepted that there is a risk, but in tree management, risk is not an absolute concept," they explain, and they point out that it depends on the probability, the target, and the mitigation measures. One of the city's arguments for ruling out intermediate solutions was the removal of perimeter fences that had been previously installed. The platform, however, maintains that this installation was done in a "clearly deficient" manner, without anchoring or professional safety criteria. "The fact that a fence can be manipulated does not invalidate the measure, just as a road is not removed so that someone can run a red light," they add. They also reject the argument that the square cannot be closed to guarantee access for emergency vehicles. According to them, differentiated management formulas for uses and access have been proposed that would allow pedestrian safety to be compatible with the operation of essential services. "These solutions exist and they work, but they haven't been studied," they complain. Regarding spaces for participation, the platform believes that the Palma Verde Roundtable cannot replace a genuine dialogue process if documentation is not provided and technical challenges are not allowed. "Dialogue is not communicating a decision that has already been made," they emphasize. The residents insist that they are not disputing the municipality's responsibility to guarantee safety, but rather the decision to directly opt for "the most extreme measure" without exhausting alternatives or allowing for an independent evaluation. "The beautiful shade structures are not replaceable street furniture: they are mature green infrastructure and climate heritage," they conclude.

The Administrative Court No. 4 of Palma has lifted the precautionary measure adopted on December 11th at the request of an organization regarding the replacement of 18 beautiful shade trees in Llorenç Villalonga Square due to the risk of them falling. The Court acknowledges the municipality's responsibility to guarantee public safety, taking into account the technical reports from the municipal Parks and Gardens department, which conclude that all the affected trees are in poor condition, with no future prospects, and with various pathologies that entail a high risk of fracture.

The Palma City Council condemned the removal of some of the barriers installed in Llorenç Villalonga Square last Friday due to the alleged risk of trees falling, and announced that it will report the incident to the court and the Public Prosecutor's Office, considering that public safety has been compromised. "The restricted area is a space where municipal technical reports warn of the risk posed by the existing trees, which has allowed people to move freely under specimens with structural defects," the City Council stated. They also pointed out that the removal of the barriers has caused material damage, with elements displaced and left on the ground, hindering the work of municipal services. Sources at the City Hall emphasized that this type of action cannot be considered a legitimate form of protest because it poses a risk to the public. As Cort explained, all the planned work in the square is based exclusively on technical criteria and risk prevention, following a review of the 18 existing shade trees, which, according to the technicians, present the same structural problems as other trees in the area that have already broken.

Palma City Council will cut down 18 beautiful shade trees in Plaça de Llorenç Villalonga this Thursday, arguing that "these trees pose a risk of falling," and will replace them with 20 trees, the species of which have not yet been specified. However, residents and environmentalists do not believe the City Council's justification and believe that other alternatives can be explored that do not end the lives of trees that have become part of the landscape of the square, located just a few meters from a hotel. "The target area of the tree can be isolated to prevent anyone from being within the radius of a potential falling branch," suggests Mariano Reaño, president of Friends of the Earth. Local residents have organized a protest. human chain for this Thursday at 7 a.m. with the aim of stopping its logging.