News

Renewed support for local farmers' co-op

Friday, 28 April 2017 23:06

Foto signatura cooperativa Formentera Council president Jaume Ferrer met with the director of the island's farmers' co-operative, Cooperativa del Camp, to put their signatures on a partnership agreement between the two groups valued at €95,000.

With a focus on community-level efforts to revive local agriculture and beautify Formentera's landscapes, the partnership is aimed at renewing efforts like the co-operative's stewardship of unused land and management of member plots.

It is reckoned that the bid to reactivate agriculture on Formentera will have positive knock-on effects on economic, social, cultural and environmental areas.

The Farmland Reserve programme took wing in April 2015 when the first land was handed over to the co-operative. Since then, roughly 142 hectares of farmland have been donated by 60 private landowners.

Council adopts plenary plan to manage cultural heritage sites

Friday, 28 April 2017 21:55

Foto sessio plenaria abril The Formentera Council convened its April plenary session today. It was a meeting marked by the swearing in of Partido Popular (PP) operative Enrique Llorens Folgado as councillor, a role that was previously filled by Gabriela Mayans.

One proposal that followed on the heels of Llorens's appointment and got the vote of all parties was the 2017-2019 management plan for the island's cultural heritage sites. Patrimony councillor Susana Labrador took the floor in favour of the motion, aimed at setting up strategy and priorities in protecting and giving visibility to Formentera's historical heritage.

The day's session also saw a green-light for the island's census figures. According to chief of the CiF president's office Bartomeu Escandell, a tally put the island's population on January 1, 2017 at 12,905.

A socialist party proposal on upkeep of the es Cap tracks garnered the assembled plenary's full support. Infrastructure councillor Rafael González made assurances that a repair of the surrounding fences and a general check of the installation were in the works.

Request for rectification
Towards the end of the session and in response to a question from the PP, Council president Jaume Ferrer reiterated that standards had been rigorously upheld in tendering works contracts to Regioplus Consulting and Consultores de Políticas Comunitarias.

Ferrer expressed his stark disapproval of a posting made recently on social media by José Manuel Alcaraz. In his post, Manuel claimed, “on Formentera we're living in a handy age. I'm not talking new technologies; those are an absolute mess. I'm talking about all the handpicking Jaume Ferrer does when he hands out contracts to friends and family”. Ferrer pledged to take the matter to court if Manuel refused to retract the comments.

Nursery school signups from May 2

Friday, 28 April 2017 11:10

foto escoleta The Formentera Council's Office of Education has announced that registration for the island's nursery schools will run May 2 to 16. Applications can be picked up and will be accepted for submission at the Citizen Information Office (OAC). No late applications will be admitted. Submissions can also be made across OAC's online platform, Virtual Citizen Information Office (OVAC).

Included among the enrolment material applicants will receive is a list of information that will be requested and used to determine placement. As per criteria established in educational committee, priority will be given to single-parent households and children from multiple births. Applicants with questions are encouraged to visit Escoleta Sa Miranda Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 2.00 to 3.00pm or Escoleta de Camí Vell on Wednesdays at the same hour.

Head of Balearic parliament meets with Council leadership

Friday, 28 April 2017 11:14

Foto presidents Jaume Ferrer, chair of the Formentera Council, met with Baltasar Picornell as part of a visit by the head of the Balearic parliament to deepen local engagement with the Palma lawmaking body. A subsequent meeting, held immediately after, included the rest of the CiF's team of councillors.

Ferrer extended thanks to Picornell for his visit and drew special attention to a gathering to take stock held at the Council's main office on April 7.

Formentera joins International Dance Day's list of backers

Friday, 28 April 2017 11:00

Foto actuacio de dansa The Formentera Council's education and culture departments have announced plans by students of the municipal school of music and dance to stage a performance on Friday, April 28 at 6.30pm, in observance of International Dance Day. As part of the special day, which was officially proclaimed April 29, the young performers will tackle contemporary and Spanish dance routines and pronounce a short reading on Sant Francesc's plaça de la Constitució.

By focusing on dance in unconventional places, the performance's organisers hope to take the art form to the streets and give it visibility. The aim, they say, is to engage both young and old in dance appreciation. It will perhaps give way to an entire plaza of young people dancing in sync, even if only for a few minutes.