José Hila, who says there is no plan to convert shipping containers. | Pere Bota

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The mayor of Palma, José Hila, says that the conversion of shipping containers into homes "is not a proposal by the government team" and that there has been "no talk or discussion" of it.

Speaking on Tuesday, the mayor stressed that any solutions to the housing problem "have to be definitive, not temporary". In this regard, he added that it is necessary for administrations (e.g. the Balearic and Spanish governments) to intervene more purposefully to facilitate access to housing through appropriate budgets and laws.

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Hila outlined the measures taken while he has been mayor to alleviate the problem in Palma, such as the transfer of twelve municipal plots to the regional government's Ibavi housing agency so that it can build 357 properties for social housing and establishing, under the city's new urban plan, that 47 per cent of new developments must be social housing.

Hila's remarks can be interpreted as something of a rebuke to the housing councillor, Neus Truyol. It was she who last week raised the possibility of converting shipping containers, saying that a scheme of this nature in Barcelona was "very interesting" and suggesting that the town hall had identified potential plots for this type of development.

Truyol of Més is the party's candidate for mayor of Palma at the elections in May; Hila is PSOE's candidate.