Residents of Son Busquets raise alarm over a "ghetto" with 831 social rentals

The residents' association of Parc de ses Fonts and the Conservatori rejects the project for 831 social rental homes in the old barracks, considering it will generate exclusion and forget about young people and workers.

Residents of Son Busquets have raised their voices against the Government's project to build 831 social rental homes in the old barracks. Yolanda Rodríguez, president of the residents' association of Parc de ses Fonts and the Conservatori, warns that the concentration of housing for vulnerable groups could turn the area into a "ghetto".

One single housing formula that excludes workers and young people

Rodríguez reminds us that the social memory of the General Plan of Palma clearly states that ghettos should be avoided. "Not everything has to be social rental, which is usually aimed at people at risk of exclusion or vulnerable groups. They forget about the workers or the young people in the neighbourhood. Where are they going to live?" the residents' leader questions.

The association advocates for a mix of regimes in the future Son Busquets: sale, limited and assessed rental, in addition to social rental. "We completely agree that there should be VPO, but not that everything is reduced to a single regime," Rodríguez insists.

Management awarded to a UTE with an investment fund

The residents' president also criticises the recent awarding of future management of these homes to a UTE. One of the companies involved, Serveo, "is based in Holland and belongs to Portobello Capital, which is an investment fund or, as it is commonly called, a vulture fund," she denounces.

Rodríguez questions the haste with which this management has been finalised for homes that will still take years to be built. "What we don't understand is this rush in the tendering process," she states. "They are not capable of worrying about the plot and clearing the weeds, which we have repeatedly told them poses a fire risk, but they do care about issuing a tender and making a decision that the next government will have to deal with," she adds.

For the association, the project is not designed with the citizens of Palma or young people in mind. "Young working Mallorcans are completely excluded from these 800 or so homes, completely," Rodríguez concludes.

The plot of the old barracks in Son Busquets, in the heart of the Palma neighbourhood, has been unused for years and is overgrown, leading to complaints from residents about the fire risk. Meanwhile, the Government continues with a plan that, according to residents, could alter the social fabric of the area. The next meeting between the association and the Palma City Council is scheduled for September, where they hope to present their objections.