Friday, 02 October 2020 10:23
Appealing to the European Fund for Recovery and Resilience, the Consell de Formentera has submitted eight project proposals which, if accepted, would entail a combined investment of nearly nine million euros. Spain has already been promised €140 billion, nearly €73 billion of which will go toward projects with themes like the ecological and digital transitions, human capital improvements, social and territorial cohesion and equality.
Charged with selecting a short list of candidate projects within the region, the Govern balear says coordination between institutions and social and economic stakeholders will be key to ensuring only the very best proposals make it to Madrid, thus increasing the chances that a maximum amount of funding is awarded to the Balearic Islands.
According to Consell premier Alejandra Ferrer, “times of crisis like these require investment from beyond local and regional government. That’s why the Consell has presented eight cross-cutting projects in harmony with our model of sustainable island and committed to causes like improving waste management, controlling moorage along the local seaboard and promoting electric vehicles across municipal transport.”
Construction and demolition waste treatment plant
Projected investment: €1,771,340.76
With this new plant, Formentera could guarantee construction and demolition waste is reused according to the principles outlined in Law 8/2019 on polluting soils and waste.
Included in Formentera’s Sectorial Plan on Waste, the plant delivers on goals for the reuse of construction and demolition materials. Repurposed raw materials drawn from waste treatment will also constitute a return on investment.
Organic waste treatment plant
Projected investment: €1,795,000
Included in Formentera’s Sectorial Plan on Waste, a new plant to locally treat organic waste delivers on goals concerning the reuse cycle of organic waste and waste separation at point of origin. It would also mean productivity increases and a boost for innovation, particularly as part of the digital and ecological transition.
Implementing plan to regulate moorage along Formentera seaboard
Projected investment: €619,333.11
A system of controls on moorage across the Formentera seaboard would not only protect the coastline and promote its regeneration, the project would be in line with the Natura 2000 comprehensive management plan. Revenue from rental of regulated moorage buoys additionally permit a full return on investment.
Undergrounding organic waste bins
Projected investment: €558,600
Selectively collected local organic waste, whether from homes or businesses, could be used to generate agriculture-grade organic compost. The resulting high-quality compost could enrich nutrient-poor farmland on the island and reinvigorate the countryside.
Not only would the investment ultimately pay for itself given savings on transport to Eivissa’s Ca na Putxa waste tip, the action would extend the useful lifetime of the waste bins.
Electric vehicles and recharge stations for island’s bus service
Projected investment: €1.5 million
Three electric minibuses and associated electrical recharge stations for the island’s public transport service would improve mobility for all islanders, especially those of reduced income and at risk of social exclusion. Public transport will be free for riders in these groups.
Digitising Formentera commerce
Projected investment: €560,000
With a virtual marketplace encompassing all local businesses and “payment promenade” toward individual websites, Formentera businesses could increase their capacity for economic recovery and, it is anticipated, increase sales as well as Formentera products’ penetration in other markets.
Improvements in Es Pujols tourism hub
Projected investment: €1,217,156.64
Increased alignment of Es Pujols with visitor expectations would diminish the perception of “massification” voiced by tourists. A comprehensive reform could eliminate vehicle traffic in town and substitute/modernise existing hydraulic infrastructure whilst creating a exclusively pedestrian zone and beautified streets. These marked improvements in the town’s centre would benefit a reactivation of tourism and business in Formentera’s largest tourism hub. In addition to improved water management sustainability, mobility and waste management, the project could change the face of the typical Es Pujols tourist, with today’s nightlife-seeking young person becoming tomorrow’s buttoned-up family man, more harmonious with what is commonly promoted on the island.
Purchasing and converting Can Tomàs into a site of cultural and environmental interest
Projected investment: €900,000
Conversion of a 213,312-sq.-metre plot of protected rural land on Eivissa-Formentera Ses Salines nature reserve (including features of archaeological, ethnological, cultural and heritage interest) into a public-use site. Acquisition of the property would mean the Ca na Costa dig site —the oldest megalithic sepulchre in the Balearic Islands and currently in private hands— would enter the public domain, carrying profound benefits for the enhancement and enjoyment by the public of this monument of local archaeological heritage.
Besides being key to developing a programme to highlight, disseminate and enrich the features of archaeological, ethnological and scenic interest, the action would support land-use strategies based on historical activities.
2 October 2020
Department of Communications
Consell de Formentera
The Formentera Island Services Department, in association with the Formentera Education and Culture Department, reports that 80 sensors purchased recently for €2,258 will be installed in municipal facilities to ensure proper air quality. The devices issue real-time air-quality readings based on ambient carbon dioxide (C02) levels, temperature and humidity, plus keep time and an ongoing log of readings.
The Formentera Island Services Department reports that crews will oversee eleven distinct operations to dispense with architectural barriers in Es Pujols. The work will cost €25,000 (VAT included) and involve eight pedestrian crossings near Avinguda Miramar, Carrer Espalmador and Carrer Fonoll Marí.
The Formentera Department of Island Services reports that workers began pruning vegetation along a stretch of PM-820 in a effort to enhance road safety. The three-week operation will be limited to the segment from kilometre 12.5 to kilometre 16.5 at the edge of town, with crews trimming branches below the six metre mark to give outsize passing vehicles ample clearance.
The Consell de Formentera reports that the Oficina d’Atenció Ciutadana (“Citizen Information Office”, or OAC) will now open weekdays 8.30am to 2.30pm, Thursday afternoons from 4.00pm to 6.00pm and by appointment for islanders who request one. Appointments can be scheduled by calling 971.32.10.87 between 3.00pm and 8.30pm.
