Surge in demand for terraces from bars and restaurants

Last year, demand from bars and restaurants to open  terraces  in Palma rose by 10.6 percent, from 2,043 in 2013 to 2,259 respectively.
And, of those applications, 88 percent were approved, 123 percent more than in 2013.
However, Palma City Council’s income from the terraces fell last year because bar and restaurant owners either down sized the area of their terraces, thus paying less for the privilege, or were being more flexible with regards  to  opening their terraces.
There was, nevertheless, an increase in the number of establishments  being fined and penalised by the Local Police for breaking municipal laws, in particular  noise regulations.
In 2013, 160 fines were handed out, last year that figure rose by 200 percent to 476.