La Lonja, the centre for controversy over restaurant terrace times.

TW

Countering the objections of the restaurant sector, various residents associations in Palma have voiced their support for the 11pm closure of terraces in La Lonja. In general terms, they believe that this measure will once more make the area a place for resident coexistence, e.g. the right to peace and quiet, above businesses' financial interests.

The associations include two pressure groups, Palma XXI and Ciutat per a qui l’habita, and they have expressed surprise at the business associations' legal challenge to closing the terraces at 11pm rather than midnight. The town hall, they note, is applying the declaration of part of La Lonja as a "zone for special protection".

The growth of a few businesses, they maintain, should never be placed above the interests and welfare of the majority. Palma has to be a "sustainable city" in which the rights of those who live there should prevail.