Calvià, 5th August 2019
EACH ONE OF THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR CUTTING DOWN 24 PINE TREES IN CALA VINYES FINED WITH 31,832 EUROS BY THE TOWN HALL AND ALSO OBLIGED TO REPLANT THE TREES
This is the second fine for cutting trees down in Calvià after the Mallorcan Territorial Defense Agency forced the replanting of 98 pines in Cala Falcó
The Calvià Town Hall proposes a fine of 31,832 euros for the owners / promoters of the plot and another 31,832 euros for the construction company, responsible for cutting down 24 pines that took place at the beginning of the year without the appropriate permits in an urban plot of land in Goleta Street in Cala Vinyes, and the restoration of the site to the situation prior to the wood cutting without a license. This means that offenders must remove abandoned plant debris in the plot, as well as plant 24 pine trees (Pinus halepensis) with a 30-40 cm trunk perimeter before 31st December 2019. To guarantee total replacement to the original state of the area affected by the wood cutting, those responsible must deposit a bank guarantee of 24,024 euros, in guarantee of compensation.
This fine proposed by the Calvià Town Hall comes after the resolution recently issued by the Mallorcan Territorial Defense Agency, in reference to another area of Calvià, in Cala Falcó, in which it has ordered the replanting of 98 pines that were cut down without license on land classified as protected rustic land.
Municipal regulations consider the cutting of trees without a license as a very serious offense
The Municipal Ordinance for the defense and conservation of green heritage and catalogue of unique trees of the municipality of Calvià, in its article 9, declares mandatory “obtaining a prior municipal license for the felling or suppression of any tree with a trunk diameter greater than ten centimetres, measured one meter high, located in gardens or privately owned spaces located in urban areas of the municipality of Calvià”.
The felling of a tree without prior municipal authorisation (which is contingent upon compensating for the loss or reduction of plant elements) is considered a very serious infraction.
On its behalf, the Law of Urban Planning of the Balearic Islands (LUIB) considers as a serious infraction the breach of the acts subject to municipal urban planning license such as “felling in tree masses and shrubby vegetation, as well as isolated trees, which are subject to protection by the planning instruments ”(Art. 146.1.h), of the LUIB).
Rafel Sedano, Deputy Mayor for Youth, Citizen Participation, Environment, Ecological Transition and Democratic Memory, reiterates that in the face of these types of infractions that cause serious damage to the natural environment, the Town Hall will act forcefully so that they do not go unpunished.