Traders say business could be in ruins if Palma's building works extend over Christmas

Association President, Bartolome Servera said that his members were signing up to a petition launched by the Partido Popular (PP) - in opposition on Palma City Council - calling for building works to be paralysed during the Christmas period. “The way that the street reforms are being carried out - close up on the pavement, discouraging potential customers from braving dug-up areas to get to the individual shops - is seriously jeopardising trade for small businesses,” claimed Julio Martinez, the PP spokesman in Palma. “The Council doesn't have a right to do that,” he added, saying that at the next plenary session this month, he is going to propose that the building works be shut down to allow traders a chance to recover some income prior to Christmas. Servera said that in certain cases, the street reforms were hastening the closure of businesses which were already badly affected by the recession. “Bicycle lanes and bulldozers were the final straw for some,” he claimed. “If the mayhem continues into the run-up to Christmas, it will sound the death knell for yet more of our members,” he warned.