The opposition Partido Popular at Palma town hall say that the ruling administration has not yet initiated any of the necessary procedures to list and protect El Bungalow, the beach restaurant in Ciudad Jardín which is at risk of demolition.
At a council meeting in November, attended by the owners of the restaurant and their supporters, it was agreed to initiate procedures which would allow the town hall to list the building on heritage grounds and to demand a temporary halt to the Costas Authority's process for ordering demolition. The hope was and continues to be that a form of listed status would mean a permanent halt. All parties at the town hall gave their unanimous backing to this.
At the most recent meeting of the urban planning committee, the PP say that the councillor, Neus Truyol, was asked about this and "did not provide any report or specify the steps taken by her department up to now, which shows that they have not done anything".
Jaime Martínez, the PP's candidate for mayor at the May election, is critical of the mayor, José Hila. "He cannot deceive the citizens again. After two months, not a single piece of paper has been moved to protect Palma's heritage." In his view, protection of the building is not a priority. The coalition parties only voted in favour "to get out of trouble" because the council chamber was full of residents who were demanding a solution. The administration, argues Martínez, "has bowed to pressure" from organisations such as the environmentalists GOB.
Truyol has responded by saying that procedures are "in the preliminary phase". The whole process, she explains, "will be long", one year at least. She adds that listing the building "does not guarantee" that it will not end up being demolished.
Although Costas Authority powers are being transferred to the Balearic government (effective from July 1 this year), the regional environment minister, Miquel Mir, has made clear that this transfer will not affect the Costas' demolition order.
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