MARIA DE LA SALUT
R EFORM work on Ca ses Monges, historic convent of the Franciscan nuns in Maria, will be finished at the end of next month, “or at the very latest at the beginning of March”, claim municipal sources.

Project coordinator, Jaume Mestre, said that although the initial cost of the project was estimated at about 210'000 euros, it became necessary to add another 105'000 euros to the budget to be able to complete complementary works. The major part of the funding has come from the Works and Services department of the Council of Majorca.

The building of Ca ses Monges is to become the municipal culture centre after having been purchased by the Town Council in the year 2000. One of the sections of the building will be converted into an auditorium and theatre.

Back to nature

FELANITX
THE regional ministry for the Environment is to restore an old quarry which has been inactive for years in the area of Son Suau, lying at the base of the mount of Sant Salvador.

The aim of the project is to regenerate the land and incorporate it once more into the natural landscape. Infill material will come from authorised recycling plants or demolition sites. Once the cavernous excavations have been covered in, the area will be planted with trees native to the area.

The area of Son Suau in Felanitx, also known as Es Realenc, is home to a number of quarries which can be accessed from the Portocolom road. Various ecological and political groups have expressed their concern over the scarred landscape which can be seen from the top of the monastic site of Sant Salvador.

A short fuse

CAPDEPERA
A N agreement has still not been reached between the Town Council in Capdepera and the electricity supply company in the Balearics, Gesa. For more than a year now, Gesa has refused to foot the bill for underground cabling which is needed to feed new users in the district and upgrade the already-existing supply. The company claim that unless the Council gives it consent to start work on a new sub-station, there will be chaos next summer when demand for electricity traditionally soars. Gesa maintains that there is no legal obligation for it to pay for the link-up cabling.

Meanwhile, Joan Ferrer, mayor for Capdepera, claims that it is Gesa who are to blame as the Town Council has purportedly given permission for the supply company to start work on the sub-station as soon as they can, even though a regional government ruling is still awaited on who will pay for the underground connection.

Recycling support

SON SERVERA
T HE Town Council in Son Servera has launched a pioneering environmental campaign by deciding to provide grants to all companies in the district who recycle their own solid waste material. To this end, the Council has set aside a sum of 60'000 euros in the budget for next year.

Amounts given to each company will depend on their location. As an example, hotel establishments with dining room in the town will be allocated 4.96 euros per tourist placing; restaurants will receive funding according to their individual surface areas; local traders will receive 99.19 euros, as will car hire companies and launderettes. However, coastal zone hotels and traders will receive extra grants, as will supermarkets of more than 150 square metres. In order to receive such funding, companies must be able to demonstrate they are in possession of a system to recycle their own waste.

Park facelift

POLLENSA
THE Town Council in Pollensa has approved the first phase of a thorough reform project on the children's park situated next to the Guardia Civil headquarters in the Port. New play facilities for children are to be added.