Palma City Council will cut down 18 trees, arguing that they could fall, but the residents don't believe it.

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.

For his part, a member of the board of directors of the Balearic Tree Association (ABA), who prefers to remain anonymous, acknowledges "the need for technical management of the bellasombra trees," but considers the solution chosen by the City Council (Cort) to be "exaggerated." He points out that this species of tree "retains a lot of water," explaining that specialized technical equipment is needed to assess its condition. Therefore, the ABA member insists that the Association would accept Cort's decision "if the technical report evaluated each tree individually and stated that a planned and gradual replacement was possible to maintain the shade provided by the existing trees." Along the same lines, he criticizes the fact that the City Council previously cut down six bellasombra trees in Llorenç Villalonga Square and replaced them with six mulberry trees which, in his opinion, "are pitiful."

Residents and environmental groups acknowledge that the Palma City Council (Cort) notified them of the felling of the bellasombra trees in Llorenç Villalonga Square in the Palma Verda neighborhood, but they denounce the fact that the City Council has not provided them with the legal and technical reports that support the initiative. Given this situation, the Palma Neighborhood Association (ABA), along with other organizations, has hired specialists to analyze the condition of the trees and seek solutions in order to prepare their own reports. For her part, Maribel Alcázar, president of the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Palma, does not judge the decision of the City Council's technicians, but believes that residents should have "the full assessment and all the information." In her opinion, the City Council's mistake was "not addressing the issue with the residents in the appropriate manner and ignoring citizen participation." However, the Palma City Council reiterates its commitment to safety and regrets that certain groups are attempting to obstruct the felling.

It's worth remembering that these trees have been the subject of discussion on numerous occasions. In 2024 they left. return several copies According to the City Council, the buildings "presented defects and pathologies that posed a risk to the public." In fact, the ABA filed an appeal to temporarily suspend part of the work, but the court dismissed it and gave the green light to the municipal decision.