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The battle over noise between bar owners, residents and the Palma city council is on a war footing again and yesterday local business people in the once hugely popular and booming city night spot announced that they are going to make one last attempt at talking to the local residents in a bid to reach an amicable solution, before it is too late. The new spokesperson for the La Lonja Bar and Restaurant Association, Mariano Mayol, also said yesterday that the association wants to try and persuade the local council to see reason and to realise that the latest rules and regulations are having a seriously damaging effect on business. Alarm bells are ringing in the bars and restaurants. Mayol said yesterday that over the next few months as many as 40 La Lonja music bars will be forced to close under the strict rules and regulations governing music in the area. “Some bars cannot even play music at low levels and they are losing huge amounts of business, for many it is no longer economically viable to stay in business,” Mayol said. “The situation has reached an emergency situation, even critical for some landlords. Many bar owners are already having to lay staff off after a lean summer which saw profits slump in some bars. “It's even affected me. I've had to release one of the girls who worked in my bar and I doubt she will be the last as we all start to feel the final pinch. Being allowed to have music for only two hours a night is not financially viable and does not help create a commercial infrastructure,” Mayol said yesterday.