Developers worried that building licences won't be issued

Construction work can continue, but the issue for Proinba is that town halls, such as Palma, are drastically reducing work by certain departments, e.g. the registry office, and calling off urban planning meetings. The president, Luis Martín, says that over the next few weeks, no new licences will be issued while those that are being processed won't be completed.

Building work, he stresses, is almost totally dependent on town halls. He believes, therefore, that the necessary departments should continue to function "reasonably". The authorities "need to get their act together" in finding a way to keep the processing of licences going.

Palma town hall has said that it is preparing a contingency plan. At present, however, Proinba has had no notification of what this is. He emphasises that if developers can't activate work, builders won't get paid and nor will their employees. "This could create a tsunami, so it is important to set up a system that allows the industry to keep moving."

Martín explains that as well as the building licences themselves, various other permissions are needed while work is being carried out. These include, for example, the occupation of the public way and the positioning of cranes. Palma's municipal registry office, he adds, is processing urgent licences, but ones for these types of need are not deemed to be urgent.

Meanwhile, municipal works are continuing. Palma town hall says that each contract is now governed by a hygiene protocol for workers and that the health and safety department is checking in order to ensure that this protocol is adhered to.