The noise was so loud that the Associació Barri Cìvic de Santa Catalina i es Jonquet, the local neighbourhood association, denounced on its X account that “we are on our way to Magaluf”.
The association reported this situation with a video recorded by some neighbours. Although they called the local police, they were told that they would send officers when a unit was available.
The neighbours do not know if there was a police presence.
“The terraces make a fortune out of this. And it’s not allowed. No music, no shows. Just lunch and dinner. But we start tolerating this and we don’t know how we’re going to end up. We only know that we are getting worse,” the association said.
Although they have asked for help from the Town Hall, “we know they are working on it and have asked us for patience”, but the situation, they said, has been getting worse.
“Before there were a couple of trouble spots, but now all this is spreading throughout the neighbourhood. There are already a lot of trouble spots. In the end it is not going to be possible to live in Palma”, said the organisation, “this is a jungle”.
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It's a difficult balance. Santa Catolina has become THE late night "cool" city centre neighbourhood in Mallorca, attracting a fashionable - somewhat noisy (but not rowdy) - crowd to its trend-setting bars and restaurants. What Santa Catolina offers represents one of the appealing factors that has brought Palma so much positive press as the "mini Barcelona" in recent years. Palma is now well and truly on the weekend "city break" agenda, which is great news for the diversification of the island's tourism economy. That's not to say that one shouldn't sympathise with those residents who lived in Santa Catolina prior to the area morphing into a late night 'cool' hangout, but a balance has to be struck. And any comparison with Magaluf is absurd.
Charles Dalrymple-ChumleyI agree with that to some extent, but it is a popular restaurant and bar area in the inner city. I think one could expect late night noise in any such area in any city. Many people would actually be attracted to living in it. But many wouldn't. You can't please them all. MDB recently published an article about the overcrowding in Porreres. It was based on a complaint from one resident. I know Porreres rather well, and I can say with absolute confidence that the only time anything resembling "overcrowding" in Porreres is on market day. And even then, it's busy, but not quite "overcrowded" or unbearable. And only for 3 or 4 hours. But there's always someone who will complain. And besides, it makes good "fury and outrage" fodder, even if it's just a gross exaggeration. Santa Catalina is a very different animal than Porreres, but I detect a similar tone of exaggeration in this one. It's a popular restaurant and bar district (with some good eats and drinks) in a good sized city, in close proximity to other popular attractions. Maybe as you suggest, it could use a bit more adult oversight, but really, the options here are A) get rid of the bars, restaurants and shops, or B) live with it.
I find its amazing how effective it is to get people to move on when you throw a bucket of pi$$ over them from your terrace.
"In the end it is not going to be possible to live in Palma” said the Associació Barri Cìvic de Santa Catalina i es Jonquet. No. That's defeatist talk and is unacceptable. Fire the association's Head and re-group. Go to the police chief and demand extra measures, action and a greater police presence at the weekends. Don't accept the status quo and do shout from the rooftops that you're not having this anymore. Allowing these groups of drinkers to drive residents from the city centre is intolerable. Residents have rights and the association is doing a poor job in representing them.
This is what happens when you make gomila for the rich and famous