Terraces in La Lonja

Terraces in La Lonja, Palma. | T. AYUGA

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma07/11/2019 09:55
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The Majorca Restaurants Association is leading a group called the Platform Yes to Palma Terraces. This group is planning to hold a “referendum” on the future of terraces in the city. It is planned for Sunday, 19 January, the day before the big party for the Sant Sebastià fiestas, and will have five voting points - La Lonja, S’Escorxador, Calle Fábrica in Santa Catalina, Blanquerna and the Plaça Major.

The association has invited the town hall to send an official to verify the voting process.
In early October, the town hall was sent an official request to hold this referendum; the town hall didn’t respond.

Alfonso Robledo, the association’s president, says that the referendum’s objective is to show that residents want terraces and respect for coexistence, with the understanding that the right to peace and quiet is “sacred”. Changes to bylaws, he stresses, should not be made every four years.

Robledo points to there being “many families who depend on revenue from bars and restaurants”. “Without terraces, some have been forced to close, and many others may have to.”

The president of the association adds that Palma is much more than La Lonja and Santa Catalina and that residents should decide if they want terraces in the whole of Palma or not. “We want to provide data to the town hall which shows that not all residents complain; far from it.”

The councillor for citizen participation, Alberto Jarabo, says that the town hall “fails to understand” the need for the referendum. “What should be done is to continue having dialogue.”