Reduction on electricity bills

gas supply is also switched over to the municipal supplier.

EMAYA became Palma Council’s official electricity and gas supplier in 2022, founded with the aim of improving energy efficiency and boosting the use of renewable sources.

Once all the municipal departments and bodies switch over to EMAYA throughout this year, the council is expected to save around €4.8 million in its yearly electricity and gas bills.

Palma population to grow by 60,000

PALMA council predicts that the city’s population will increase by 60,000 over the next 20 years.

The town hall approved the new General Town Plan, which foresees a ‘moderate’ growth over the next two decades compared to the 120,000 increase registered over the last 20 years, according to Palma mayor José Hila.

Despite the predicted population rise, the Town Plan suggests that all the affordable housing, green area, infrastructure and services requirements will be covered without any major problems.

Interestingly, the document states that 70 per cent of the increase in said requirements will be covered by existing facilities through restoration, regeneration and other improvements.

In fact, the Town Plan reduces the total surface area classed as suitable for construction to nearly half of the amount established by the previous document of 1998, dropping from 494 hectares to 280.

The 235 declassified hectares are located in lowdensity residential growth areas such as Son Gual, Puntiró and Génova.

Despite this surface reduction, the number of new houses to be built doubles under the new plan and the number of council ­ owned housing is multiplied by four. This is reportedly made possible because the population density per hectare is increased from five inhabitants under the previous Town Plan to 75 in the new one.

More than 800 allegations and modifications were filed against the first draft of the

Town Plan presented in November 2021, of which 60 per cent were accepted and included in the final document.

Among them was the declassification of urban land in Son Sardina, Sa Indioteria Sud, Son Cladera Nord and Sud, Son Pardo and Puigdorfila Sud.

In the case of the latter area, original plans to build 800 new houses have been reduced to less than half.

Protection of rustic land, Natural Interest and Scenic Interest Areas has also been stepped up, with nearly 8,230 hectares of rustic land now officially protected.