News

New by-law on outdoor patios

Friday, 20 April 2018 14:29

Foto Can Rafal The Formentera Council land and tourism offices remind the island's business owners that a new ordinance took effect on January 31 regulating outdoor installations like terraces.

Occupancy permits issued under the previous ordinance are now invalid, and business proprietors who wish to exercise activity on the public thoroughfare must once again request authorisation for any outdoor instalations.

Article 10 of the ordinance (available on the website of the CiF office of urbanism) sets out the supporting documentation necessary to request a permit.

A reminder: under the new by-law, permits will not be granted to establishments that fail to guarantee business activity between May 15 and October 15.

Teams begin third phase of push to map Formentera's subaquatic surroundings

Thursday, 19 April 2018 17:43

foto boat Patrimony and environment department officials in the Formentera Council report that this week operations are under way in the third phase of a project to map Formentera's surrounding waters from below. The effort entails sidescan sonar-powered prospections of the stretch of seaboard from cala Saona to es Cap de Barbaria lighthouse.

Statutory report requirements meant a prolonged permit process and the start date, initially planned for December 2017, was pushed back to April. The Council's governing committee OK'd the campaign and the accompanying “archaeological prospection” after

The campaign and accompanying archaeological probe were rubber-stamped January 22 by the Council's governing committee after having received a favourable ruling, last November 17, of the archaeological committee reviewing the case.

Formentera's underwater archaeological map, or Carta arqueològica subaquàtica, is a project of the Balearic institute for the study of marine archaeology (IBEAM) and the Formentera Council. The document is considered a key part of Formentera's 2017-2019 strategy for sensible management of the island's cultural patrimony.

IBEAM project director Javier Rodríguez Pandozi highlighted fifteen areas of interest the current push had turned up some fifteen areas of interest and said a fourth effort, forecasted for October, is aimed at a more in-depth study of nearby ruins.

In the words of patrimony secretary Susana Labrador, once the five parts of the campaign are complete, the resulting map will be a “valuable tool” for the Council, providing “location information and descriptions of the heritage sites at sea around Formentera”. Most important, however, are the Council's plans for how that information will be used—“to guarantee sound management and ensure the sites are protected”.

Help pinpointing heritage sites
The completed map will be owned by the Formentera Council. However, to safeguard sites against plundering, its consultation will be limited to specialists.

The heads of the research effort asked Formentera residents in general and fishermen in particular to cooperate in protecting sunken archaeological ruins by reporting any found objects to the Council's patrimony office or the GEAS arm of the Guardia Civil.

Formentera prepares for fresh dose of theatre in inaugural l'Inhòspit

Thursday, 19 April 2018 15:29

foto inhospit 2 Cultural collective Espai F pulled the curtain back today on l'Inhòspit, a sampling of new theatre that audiences in la Mola can see this May. The offices of tourism and culture of the Formentera Council are providing support for the event.

Thursday through Saturday (May 3-5) l'Inhòspit will take over la Mola's social and cultural hangout, la Casa del Poble, from 7.00pm.

Organisers project the festival will be yearly, with this year's edition envisioned as a forum for new theatre, dance and performance art. Three nightly performances are planned at three points across la Mola: in the woods (bosc de ses Planes), at the foot of a windmill (molí d'en Botigues) and in the town square, plaça del Pilar.

In its inaugural year, the festival will draw more than twenty artists from different quarters of contemporary theatre and eight troupes, two from the island, one from Eivissa, two from Mallorca, two from Barcelona and one from Wales.

Nightly concerts closing the event will be held in Can Toni bar.

Open registration at early-learning centres

Thursday, 19 April 2018 15:49

foto escoleta 2018 1 The education office of the Formentera Council reports on the start of signups, this Thursday, May 3, for 2018-2019 enrolment at the Formentera Council's two nurseries, sa Miranda and es Camí Vell. The last day to register is May 16.

Interested parties can pick up and drop off the registration form at the Citizen Information Office (OAC) May 3-16 from 9.00am to 2.00pm. The office is open Monday to Friday. Forms can also be submitted online, via the Virtual Citizen Information Office, within the same deadline.

The application itself provides families a guide for navigating paperwork (while some documents are required, others are for used for the schools' information only) as well as a roadmap of important dates on the academic calendar.

Families are encouraged to contact both nurseries, or escoletes, directly. Staff at sa Miranda handle inquiries Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from 1.30pm to 3.30pm, and es Camí Vell accept information requests Wednesdays from 1.30pm to 3.30pm.

CiF education secretary Susana Labrador explained that the admissions process would be the same for both schools, and that applicants would also have the opportunity to note their preference for placement. Incoming students at sa Miranda escoleta must be born in 2016, 2017 or 2018; es Camí Vell accept children born in 2016 and 2017.

Between the two schools, which will remain open year round in 2018, there is space available for a total of 128 children. Staff at the centres consist in 16 instructors, one director and one educational assistant for special-needs children, as well a cook and assistant to oversee kitchen service.

According to Councillor Labrador, early-childhood education is “a great challenge” guided by two grand objectives: “premium quality and zero wait lists”. Though infant education isn't mandatory, she confided, “it is an essential part of balancing one's family and his or her professional career”.

Formentera ramps up pest control measures after wet winter

Wednesday, 18 April 2018 18:12

Foto control de moscards 2 The Formentera Council's department of environment is unveiling its newest crusade to keep numbers of mosquitos and lake flies under control in the ses Salines nature preserve. Operations are planned at a handful of fresh water points, generally preferred sites among pests depositing their larvae, at s'Estany Pudent, s'Estany des Peix and ses Salines d'en Marroig.

As crews got to work yesterday covering the treatment area, they noted considerable buildup of stagnant water, attributed to heavy rainfall early in the year. Those conditions likely resulted in the upwelling of mosquitos, both larvae and fully-grown adults.

Those circumstances were part of what prompted the decision to step up efforts in 2018. Namely, this year's campaign involves a 31-day, two-part application plan as opposed to the 24-day programme that was implemented in 2017. The first part, dubbed the “shock” phase, involves three weeks' worth of twice-weekly dustings on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In the second phase, treatment will be scaled back to once a week.

Crews are using the maximum dosage allowed by law as they spray a bio agent called Bacillus thuringiensis Israeliensis across parts of ses Salines. The idea is to achieve maximum ambient levels of the substance, a natural insecticide that works by acting directly on larvae growing in stagnant water.

After the first day of operations, department head Daisee Aguilera, noting not only the glut of standing water but also forecasts of mounting temperatures in the days ahead, defended the decision to move up this year's start date and intensify application during the first three weeks. “Intensification of the campaign lets us take aim at the swelling mosquito population and deal with some of the negative ways its affecting islanders”, Aguilera said.

Two operators oversee control measures, which involve special rucksacks that are filled the insecticide and fitted with dusting equipment. Spraying the product in its pulverised state is seen as a more effective form of application. The effort is scheduled to continue through October.

Though the price tag initially placed on 2018 operations, €32,075, is nearly ten thousand euros more than the amount set aside for last year's campaign, officials have already said they are prepared to increase this figure should inconvenciences associated with the mosquitos and lake flies persist.