Night works and indignation at the Teulera: "They have been 12 hours of noise all summer"

PalmaJoan is a freelancer and works from home. He lives in La Teulera, above the old Son Dureta hospital. Until a few months ago, the windows of his house overlooked an undeveloped plot of land, where the sun came in and the view opened up. Now that is over. Overnight, they have put up a wall a few meters away, on the other side of the street. What was once an empty lot is now a gray wall and a pile of scaffolding. According to the residents, there will be a new supermarket behind it. But the change in the environment is not the only reason for complaint: the neighbors report that the construction work has extended beyond the permitted hours, without respecting municipal regulations, and that they have suffered days of up to 12 hours of continuous noise throughout the summer.

This transformation has sparked unrest among the residents of Carrer de les Illes Balears, in Palma. The neighbors claim that the plot had been empty for between 15 and 20 years and that, at the beginning of this summer, the developer leased it long-term to build a new commercial establishment. Now, they report that the building and, especially, the supermarket's service area will be very close to the entrances of their homes.

"They have planted a supermarket right in front of our house," summarizes Maria, one of the neighbors. However, the unrest is not limited to the future establishment. The construction work has turned the last few months into a constant source of noise, dust, and dirt, she explains. She also asserts that the work has started some days before 7 a.m. and has extended until 9:30 p.m., even though the municipal ordinance regulating noise and vibrations establishes that construction work exceeding the fixed limits can only be carried out on working days between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.

"It has been twelve hours of noise all summer long," explains Joan. "They were digging and the houses were shaking, they haven't stopped even during nap time." The neighbors claim that they have notified the Local Police on several occasions, although they lament that the agents' visits have been scarce. They also report having found vehicles stained with paint as a result of the work.

Maria explains that there have also been verbal confrontations with some of the workers. She assures that, after confronting workers about the disturbances, they even told her, in a mocking tone: "Which one is your house? That one? Well, tomorrow, first thing in the morning, we'll be there drilling." Another neighbor states that she received a sexist comment: "What's happening is that you have a lot of free time, you don't work or do anything at all."

"They have taken the sun from us"

Beyond the noise and disturbances during construction, what worries the neighbors most is how their surroundings will look once the supermarket is in operation. The cobblestone alley that provides access to the homes, they explain, will be very close to the establishment's service area and the truck entrance. "There is already a supermarket very close by. We don't understand how the developer did this," laments Joan. "They have blocked the sun to create a truck passage," he criticizes. Residents fear that, once the business is open, the noise of the construction work will be replaced by the usual movement of a supermarket: the arrival of goods early in the morning, loading and unloading, vehicle traffic, dumpsters, and potential odors.

Faced with this situation, the neighbors have started to organize themselves. They are studying the creation of a platform to channel complaints and are preparing a possible joint action. They have also requested calming measures and, among other proposals, they suggest creating a plant barrier to reduce the visual impact of the new building. Furthermore, they claim to have filed several reports with the Local Police and are considering taking collective legal action.