Staff reporter
THE Councillor for urban development in Palma, Rafael Vidal, announced yesterday that the Municipal Housing Board has started building 217 new subsidized properties and justified the lack of funds granted to the board saying that the municipality counted on sufficient resources in order to create public housing. Accompanied by the managing director of the Housing Board, Julio Alba, Vidal made these declarations during the presentation of the municipality's achievements during its term of office. They planned 365 dwellings for public use in Palma, 148 of which are now finished. One aspect of the work is that they have completed 18 developments in the historic centre of Palma (11 of which were restorations). This makes a total of 128 new subsidized properties with an investment of 10.2 million euros. Additionally, they have projects for 237 new homes away from the centre, 217 of which are being built at an estimated cost of 18.6 million euros. Out of these properties, 123 will be reserved for young people. Given these facts, the Urban development councillor hotly denied that the Town Council had built officially protected homes and verified that during the period of office, plots of land had not been ceded to the IBAVI, saying that it's not necessary if we have a team as powerful or more powerful than a Government team. He considered it logical that the Housing Board should be involved in the creation of public dwellings in Palma, in the first place because it is the responsibility of the Town Hall to look to the needs of the municipality's citizens, and secondly, because he considers IBAVI should focus on areas where there are less resources. Similarly, he cited this lack of ceding of land as being one of the problems that the local Corporation had had on previous occasions receiving compensation implies the donation of lands for the construction of public housing. On another front, Vidal also emphasized that the programme Renting to the Young has succeeded in offering 260 properties to 609 people in this group and that the PMV manages 700 dwellings on a rental basis, which makes it the organization offering most out of all in the Community. Under this heading, he highlighted likewise the beginning of an initiative which would help immigrants have access to their own housing. Amongst other things, the PMV has collaborated in the setting up of the Estel Day centre, the Sa Calatrave Civic Centre, the Flassaders Cultural Centre and the Sa Gerreria School for Craftsmen, at the time that 1.8 million euros has been invested in the creation of the Molino d'en Garleta Museum.