Winter dilemma in Soller: Will local businesses survive?

Excitement in Soller as we wait the new bus schedules from November 2024. The soundbite announces there is going to be an increase of buses all over the island. There is a long wish list for transport in the Soller Valley Three buses an hour on the main routes to Palma would be a start. Extra services to Fornalutx and a year-round service over the mountain to Pollensa via Lluc. Add that to new bus stops and a service from the Repic beach, and you understand the angst. Buses and parking occupy too much time in local discussions around the dates the timetables change. The huge improvements in the bus services is a victim of its success. This, together with free travel for residents, has made it a pleasure to use the bus, when it’s not overloaded.

Always the bigger picture in Soller as the financing of projects get divided up between the Town Hall, The Consell of Mallorca and sometimes direct from Madrid or EU funding. Applying for the grants from all these entities is a job in itself. Sometimes we miss the deadlines and have to wait till the following year to apply. It is not unusual for the Town Hall to plead poverty over an issue at the same time as the EU begins a very expensive project. The judgement starts then because friends do not understand the back story. Mis-directed criticism is a fact of Soller life.

This is the season of catching up with friends. As busy schedules finish and annual holidays start, the language changes in Soller Mallorquin comes to the fore as local people are glad to use their own language and not the language of tourism which has occupied them for the last eight months. Some local people rarely come to the Placa in working months. At this time of year, they are there every day. The opinions of those friends are very important. Local politicians listen and what they learn helps define their direction. Strongly held beliefs from all side of the spectrum can be heard debated by many in the winer months.

Soller was once considered ‘an island within an island’. This came from the isolation of this area before the Soller Tunnel was opened on February 19, 1997. No longer isolated, and no charge to use the tunnel, Soller is in overload. Day trippers galore and many who live here commute for work to other parts of the island. Some locals are full of doom and gloom about this and predict it as the end of the world as we know it. Others are excited about all the possibilities and opportunities which have been opened up. There is room for all views and eventually the constant moaners find themselves isolated. People in all generations have to live with the tools they have. A constant look back to the past helps no one.

In 2024 the Soller Valley finds itself with more people than it can handle, which puts strain on the infrastructure at peak times. The solution to this is the responsibility of the elected Town Council and the businesspeople of the Soller Valley. Individual views and solutions are welcomed and can make themselves known to their elected representatives. The local newspapers play their part in highlighting issues of concern. The winter months will see many involving themselves in local issues. This is their time to have their say and help define the future direction of their town.