News

Formentera launches push to swap out contaminant

Thursday, 23 November 2017 15:15

Foto presentacio campanya fibrociment The Formentera Council's Office of Environment unveiled details of a campaign encouraging individuals and households around the island to remove asbestos fibre cement in their homes. “Our hope,” said environment secretary Daisee Aguilera, “is that islanders make the decision to rid their homes of materials containing asbestos, and that they do it safely. It is not only harmful to human health, but to the environment as well.”

Interested parties can sign up today through January 15 on the Virtual Citizen's Information Office website (conselldeformentera.cat) or in person at the environment office on carrer Mallorca in Sant Ferran.

The Council is subsidising removal of related materials, transport to specialised plants on the Spanish mainland and the special bags used in the process. Initial removal costs, which vary based on the kind and size of material involved, must be covered by home-owners, though bills will reflect a reduction in the final payment due.

Factoring in subsidies on payments, the cost per 100 kilograms of materials removed is as follows: €40 for asbestos plaques; €80 for small pieces; and €150 for reservoirs.

Secretary Aguilera pointed out that Spain's ban on the sale and production of fibre-cement containing asbestos dates back to 2002. Materials containing asbestos are considered extremely dangerous due to component chemicals that pose serious health risks.

The removal effort will be headed up by Ca Na Negreta. Specialist José Antonio Pérez announced work would begin January 15. Prior to rollout, agents of Formentera's Office of Environment will run a cost study based on surveys of potential participants. The asbestos-removal push was unanimously approved by Formentera's plenary assembly in August.

Lieutenant colonel's send-off

Thursday, 23 November 2017 13:15

Comiat del fresno The Formentera Council gave the head of the Eivissa-Formentera Guardia Civil, Antonio del Fresno, an official send-off as he prepares to relocate to mainland Spain to continue employment. Secretary of the president's office, Bartomeu Escandell, offered the parting lieutenant colonel a series of books about the history of Formentera. Also on hand for the ceremony were the administration's senior cabinet members and representatives of assorted forces of order, including Guardia Civil, local police, civil protection, firefighters, the island's small and medium-sized business association (PIMEF) and a coalition of hotels.

Upgrades start at la Mola's church square

Wednesday, 22 November 2017 13:08

Foto obres placa la mola Yesterday at 7.00pm neighbours in la Mola gathered in Casa del Poble to hear about the nearby projects in the works in the months ahead. The president of the Formentera Council, together with the rest of the administration's cabinet of senior councillors, detailed the plans for upgrades on the town square and took stock of the bids to rebrand la Mola's lighthouse as a cultural centre and revamp a local thoroughfare, carrer Àngela Ferrer.

Infrastructure secretary Rafael González reported that today would see the start of construction at the plaça de l'Església (“church square”). Rather than modify the overall look of things, González said the changes would include new pavement, lighting and dry stone walls. The upgrades will cost €50,000 and must be completed in one month.

González also held up improvements scheduled on carrer Àngela Ferrer for early 2018, an effort he said would include burying overhead utility cables and street upgrades. Council staff will benefit from outside assistance in overseeing the project, whose final budgeting is pending the go-ahead from Gesa and Telefónica to bury utility lines.

La Mola lighthouse
The Council's deputy chairwoman and culture secretary, Susana Labrador, gave details about the project to makeover the far (lighthouse) in la Mola. Plans entail reforming the lighthouse's ground floor and entrance in an effort Labrador said was aimed at turning the monument into “a bastion of culture”.

In addition to an interpretative centre for la Mola's and other lighthouses on Formentera, the revamped ground floor will house a museographic collection on the local maritime patrimony and a multipurpose space for cultural events like exhibitions, concerts, conferences, recitals and stage productions. In addition to a welcome area, toilets and storage spaces, the lighthouse will feature, at its entrance, a patio for open-air events both cultural and educational in nature.

The order to execute the €765,550 project will be made when members of the Council meet in plenary this Friday. Crews will begin work in December and have nine months to conclude. The remodel is possible thanks to an easement agreement between the administration and the Balearic port authority.

Formentera works to ensure safe access to nursery and municipal sports pitch

Wednesday, 22 November 2017 15:15

Foto cami segur cami vell1 The Formentera Council's mobility office is overseeing a series of upgrades conceived to make Camí Vell de la Mola safer between Sant Francesc and the public buildings that house the nursery and the municipal sports pitch. The €15,000 project will be finished by November 30.

The project entails the creation of two lanes for pedestrians and cyclists, one on either side of the road, a change that mobility secretary Rafael González explained was primarily about safety. The breadth of the road —five metres— will remain unchanged, though it will be split in three: one 3-metre-wide lane for vehicle traffic and two lanes (at least 1 metre across) for people on foot or on two wheels.

Something else that remains untouched on the thoroughfare is two-way vehicle traffic, though the speed limit will drop to 30K/hour and signage will be posted to give walkers and bike riders priority. González says that under the new system, “when two vehicles cross paths, one must yield to the other, without disturbing foot or bicycle traffic,” two groups the secretary assured would always have priority.

Obtaining islanders' buy-in
The measure aims to “promote walking and cycling as an alternative to car travel” and “encourage people setting out from Sant Francesc,” —a mere 900 metres from the nursery and sports pitch, he noted— “to consider making the journey on foot, particularly since so many who visit the facilities are children for sport-related activities”. The most recent mobility study, conducted in August and October of this year, counted a high of 94 cyclists and 12 pedestrians in a three-hour period.

The upgrades are part of a pledge by the administration's senior councillors and the socialist party, PSOE, in the most recent 2017 budgets.

Black Friday on Formentera

Wednesday, 22 November 2017 10:53

Black friday cartell v4 The Formentera Council's Office of Trade, in association with the small and medium-sized business association of the Pityuses, or PIMEF, announces that this Friday, November 24, is “Black Friday on Formentera,” part of the buy-local campaign Compra a Casa. Under the initiative, purchases €15 and up at participating businesses will qualify shoppers to win a €50 gift card. The winner will be announced next week.

To date 33 businesses have signed on to the initiative. Since the programme's December 2017 launch, 1,060 local shoppers have received Compra a Casa loyalty cards.