Palma Council cracks down on noisy Playa de Palma bars

At midnight tonight three Playa de Palma bars will no longer be allowed to play music after they were served with Palma City Council bans yesterday afternoon by members of the Local Police. This latest move by the health and environment authorities will affect three bars in Avenida Nacional, which is frontline Playa de Palma. According to the city council the bars are being penalised for failing to comply with the noise contamination law which stipulates that music in open air or uncovered areas must be turned off at midnight. What is more it appears that the three bars in question have failed to obey the rules and regulations on three previous occasions. The prohibition of music is the first of a series of steps the council will be taking against bars in the municipality which fail to comply with the noise contamination rules and regulations. Sources for the city council explained yesterday that persistent offenders could be faced with their bars being closed down immediately for seven days - which is what happened to four bars in Calle Jamon in Arenal this summer. During this summer season, the city council has warned 31 bars in the municipality about noise levels with the majority of offending bars being along the Playa de Palma. The city council explained yesterday that the most effective way of dealing with bars which fail to obey the rules is “to act quickly with effective actions.” The reason behind the council's crackdown and enforcement of the law is to improve the quality, image and atmosphere of the popular holiday resorts along the Playa de Palma. The Association of Spanish Resort Hotels, Zontur, yesterday criticised the amount of noise along the Playa de Palma and threw its support behind calls from hoteliers and residents in the area against opening hours for bars being extended and called for a much wider crackdown on music on terraces and open areas.