Today in the Balearic parliament, Ana Juan, president of the Consell de Formentera, and Bartomeu Escandell, finance and tax office councillor, attended the reading of a manifesto urging the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Spanish legislative branch, to fast-track steps to ensure a senator for Formentera. As President Juan put it, "this manifesto is a reaffirmation of the request made by Formentera and the Balearic parliament to redress a dysfunction in the Spanish Constitution so that the voice of Formentera is directly represented in the Senate". Juan lamented VOX representatives' blocking of an official proclamation which would have been read in the final parliamentary plenary session of the legislative term.

28 March 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera

Today Ana Juan, president of the Consell de Formentera, and Juan Manuel Costa Escanellas, local delegate to the Chamber of Commerce, signed a collaboration agreement under which the Consell will provide €10,000 to promote commercial training, market research and communication on the island.

This agreement constitutes a reinforcement of the Consell's support for Formentera companies, and trade in particular, to promote training activities and encourage new entrepreneurs to start their business project. With this agreement, the Chamber plans to carry out language courses, day-long workshops in customer service, management and window dressing, and training in new technologies.

27 March 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera

Today Ana Juan, president of the Consell de Formentera, and Miquel Costa, president of El Pilar de la Mola Residents' Association, signed a collaboration agreement for the temporary lease of space at the Casa del Poble in La Mola and a €20,000 grant to maintain the facility and services and promote and develop association and community activities in 2023.

24 March 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera

Today Ana Juan, president of the Consell de Formentera, and Josep Marí, Balearic minister of mobility and housing, were joined by Alejandra Ferrer and Rafael Ramírez (vice-president and housing councillor, respectively) and Olvido Terrassa, director of the Balearic Islands Housing Institute (IBAVI), in laying the first stone of a new public housing development in Sant Ferran.

Among other features, the 17-unit development is characterised by communal spaces, and the dwellings are intended for individuals, generally young people and the elderly, with temporary housing needs. The development configures a model of collective life tailored to inhabitants, with both private and communal spaces. Consequently, a communal space is also incorporated on the first floor and a structure in the inner courtyard allows for clothes to be air-dried. The courtyard will feature soft paving, low native vegetation and deciduous trees that increase comfort in the garden itself and along the entire south façade in summer. The project has a budget of €2,188,848.29 and an execution timeframe of 23 months. All the dwellings –14 one-bedroom units and 3 two-bedroom units– are adapted spaces.

Construction of this new development has been made possible thanks to the cost-free concession of land by the Consell de Formentera. In this sense, Minister Marí highlighted "the importance of collaboration between administrations to meet the challenge of accessible housing".

In President Juan's words, "the laying of this first stone shows our administrations' commitment to continue working together for accessible and affordable housing. It marks yet another step forward, together with the recently opened housing office, the concession of land to IBAVI to build ten new homes and a new round of renters' assistance that we will approve this week".

Currently on Formentera, IBAVI has a pioneering 14-home development in Sant Ferran – the product of a new paradigm of sustainable building developed by IBAVI in the last two legislatures. IBAVI has additionally signed a protocol to build a new ten-home development on the island. This latest development puts the total number of new units added to the local stock of public housing in recent years at 27. Including the 14 dwellings in Sant Ferran, Formentera has a total of 41 public housing units.

The new development will incorporate sustainable architecture techniques promoted by IBAVI, including locally sourced materials and substantially reduced emissions during the construction process and over the useful life of the dwellings. At the core of the project strategy are parallel load-bearing walls made of lime concrete, with recycled aggregate from the excavation and rubbish tip so the new buildings can be integrated into the surrounding area and in step with traditional local architecture. The enclosing walls are made of lime concrete and lightened with recycled cork and dry posidonia.

23 March 2023
Office of Communication
Consell de Formentera