Court denies that there are economic interests behind the felling of the beautiful shade trees
The councilor for Infrastructure in Cort considered that the residents' "suspicions" were something they "created" themselves.
PalmThe Palma City Councillor for Infrastructure, Accessibility, and Industrial Parks, Belén Soto, has denied that there were any economic interests behind the felling of the beautiful shade trees in Llorenç Villalonga Square, as some residents claimed during their protest outside the City Hall on Tuesday against the municipal initiative. Some residents also suspect that the City Council cut down the trees to increase the visibility of the hotel located in the square or to allow the establishment to install terraces. In this regard, Soto clarified that she has not met "with anyone" and considered the residents' suspicions to be something they themselves "created." She also asserted that "from the outset, we have acted with complete transparency and have informed the Palma Verda Roundtable, a forum for dialogue where all political parties are represented, in addition to various neighborhood associations and organizations." Similarly, Soto emphasized that "removing the trees was the last resort," but justified the decision by stating that Cort had to implement it because "there was a high risk and the only viable alternative was their replacement." Meanwhile, the head of the Infrastructure and Accessibility department, Urbano Sánchez, criticized the fact that at the Palma Verda Roundtable, "no one" criticized the municipal institution's initiative except for the Amics de la Terra association. Along the same lines, he justified the City Council's failure to provide the residents with the technical reports supporting the tree removal, stating that Cort "has always been convinced that the explanations provided were sufficient." Furthermore, Soto noted that after the Roundtable meeting, Cort met with the residents again to discuss the issue. Sánchez explained that in Palma "there had already been previous incidents of branches falling from beautiful shade trees," a problem that began in 2009 in Llorenç Villalonga Square and also in other parts of the city. "After the first warning," he added, "the following incidents began in 2017, one on September 13 of this year, when a fracture occurred at the crown—the point where the trunk branches to form the canopy—and another on November 21, when the tree had to be cut down due to a storm," noting that "the weather is particularly harsh on the trees in this square." A few years later, "at the end of 2023, and after a systematic and rigorous evaluation of these trees, the felling of five specimens of beautiful shade trees was proposed." Then, they recalled, "the Balearic Tree Association filed an injunction, which the court ultimately rejected, ruling that the explanations given by the City Council and the priority of public safety justified the action, and the felling of five trees considered to pose the highest risk proceeded. There's still more to come. "One of them, in August 2024, a year later, also gave way at the branches," they added.
In this regard, an important detail to consider is that "the branch that fell had already undergone restructuring pruning, a type of risk-reduction pruning, the last action before felling, which consists of completely reducing the crown so that it can regenerate and a new tree, initially smaller, tends toward its original size," they warned, also specifying that this measure "can only be done twice," since "beyond that, all that's done is wound the tree, weaken its wood, and cause it to rot." where the tree must rebuild its crown."
Therefore, and after assuring that "these trees had already undergone risk mitigation measures to extend their lifespan," they warned that "now there is no other option, and yet, with a reduced crown, where there is less weight, they continue to break." In fact, "in August 2025, a clear risk situation was again observed when another branch broke from a beautiful shade tree that showed little sign of rot, but could already support the weight of the crown." Thus, "from 2009 to 2025, seven serious incidents have been recorded, but since 2022 there has been one per year," which in their opinion "gives an idea of the risk involved." "It is almost always discussed in terms of branches," although "also cavities, where a microclimate of humidity and heat is generated, very optimal for the appearance of rot," they pointed out.
With this information, it is with the Cort works in this square, where "since 2023 – when the problem became urgent because the trees exceeded certain limits – assessments have been carried out, the first practically visual, to determine if something observed posed a risk, and later, general assessments were conducted by people who are not part of the City Council staff, but rather from specialized companies." In this way, if danger is observed in the trees, further pruning is done to "reduce their risk," but "over time it becomes clear that it is no longer possible to continue doing this" due to factors such as, for example, "the unique characteristics of the 'Hermosa sombras' (a type of tree), a species with fibrous tissue very sensitive to impact, branch breakage during the summer, and which also favors the appearance of rot in the short term." Even so, he continued, "the age of the trees must be taken into account, because at a certain point in their life they abandon certain areas and there degradation by bacteria begins, and that is unstoppable," although "it can that residual areas of the tree remain intact." Other factors to consider include the tree's viability or sustainability, since "urban trees are not like those in the countryside or forests, because they face numerous interferences, such as people, dogs, other animals like rats—of which there are many in Llorenç Villalonga Square—vehicles, and lights." Attention must also be paid to climate change and the associated episodes of strong winds. This problem has forced the square to be closed at certain times.
The head of the Parks and Gardens department, Elisabet Sintes, also clarified that these trees "are not classified in any way, neither as a species nor as singular trees of the city." "It is not a protected species." For all these reasons, and given the term 'target,' which indicates a "very evident" risk, the decision to cut down the tree has been made, because the City Council (Cort), like the courts, believes that "in this case, the conflicting interests would be the maintenance of the trees versus public safety." And as for the alternative measures proposed to avoid the risks, they were not specified. However, they concluded, "work will continue to landscape and wood the square, and the existing shade trees will be replaced with 20 more native trees and shrubs by February 2026, with a budget of approximately €65,000."
