As from Thursday, bars and restaurants in Palma can be fined if they haven't removed permanent enclosed structures from terraces. There has, therefore, been a good deal of activity to remove these.
The town hall says that only 127 establishments have these structures; some ten per cent of the total. They are on streets such as Blanquerna and Fabrica as well as on squares like Plaça Espanya. Restaurant and bar owners had asked for an extension to the deadline, but the town hall turned this down. Following the passing of ordinance for the occupation of the public way, there was an eighteen-month period for removing the structures; the town hall considered this to be sufficient.
A month ago, town hall spokesperson Alberto Jarabo insisted that there could be no further delay to replacing the enclosures with ones that occupy less of the public way. Residents associations and other groups, he observed, had made clear that they were opposed to any further extension. He also noted that the only possibility for granting an extension would be through an amendment to the public way bylaw.