Last Saturday was full of sunshine and people. For the first time in months the crowds came out and were able to sit and have coffee with small groups of friends. They wore their masks and sat at socially distant tables.
Every table was full and no-one was in any hurry to leave. The new openings in the Lluna attracted the crowds and free gifts were happening all over the place. The first shop to re –open in beautiful new premises, was the Jewellers relocated from the street of the Post Office.
Jewellery is made on the premises here and the workshop is at the back of the shop. All very smart and 21st century.
The next opening had the Police taking a keen eye. Not that anyone was doing anything wrong, but crowd management was the issue. This is the new perfume shop enticing customers with a goody back of great freebies if they spent 5 euros or more. I can’t remember ever seeing this long a queue for a shop in Soller, ever.
The doors were open, the sun was shining and there was a real sense of optimism in the air. There are a number of shops in the Lluna where work is going on behind the shutters. It will be very exciting to see the new arrivals to our world just waiting in the wings.
The Guardia Civil used to occupy a large place at the top end of town near the primary school. There is a scheme afoot to demolish it all and use the 983 meters for Social Housing and a resident’s car park.
Both are equally needed in our town and reasonably priced rents are in particularly short supply. This is a project which would be well supported by locals who understand the crying need for affordable housing especially for local young people.
The Car Park stories haven’t gone away and at present there is a radical new scheme occupying the minds of the decision makers. Three hundred cars can be housed in one space in this plan. No cars will be seen and the Puerto Soller will enjoy great benefits for all its visitors and diners who come to restaurants of our gastronomic Port.
The Camp de Football is the park of the Puerto Soller. Football pitch, swings, running track and a basket ball court are all found here. The new idea is to create an underground car park under this space! Everyone is getting very excited about this project with a start date for the works in October 2021.
The Son Angelats Sports Centre expansion has been granted the green light with a million euros grant. This project, which is now being put out to public tender, envisages the construction of half a dozen training rooms that will be located behind the grandstand of the heated swimming pool. These new spaces will house a new gym, as well as several rooms for exercise classes.
The Pere Cerde School in Puerto Soller will say goodbye to its last pre fabricated classroom this week. All works have now taken place to accommodate all the school in the one building. Some may remember that it was a shared building with the fishermen for years.
The relocation of them to another municipal building in the port took time. At one point there were three prefabs in the playground housing classes. Those days are all done and now the school can start making the playground area interesting again. The workmen are already there and we are all very excited to see their work.
I know that traditionally ‘good news’ doesn’t sell but please indulge me. This has been a seriously ‘good news’ week for Soller and the port. We are happy to see the new openings and good ideas for housing and car parks and the Sports Centre. We are delighted to meet our friends again and meet up for walks and chatter.
We will soon be ready to welcome our friends from further afield. They are mighty jealous when they see the pictures on Social Media of Soller’s re-opening.
So much work going on behind the scenes to make sure we are all vaccinated and ready to receive the incomers when the permissions are granted by Governments.
Yes, good news all round, in our world this week.