• The City Council defends the decision to develop the trade fair premises on the Lluís Sitjar site as it regards it as the most advantageous option for the City.
  
• Locating the exhibition centre on the Lluís Sitjar site will improve the quality of life in four districts of Palma, will provide these neighbourhoods with several facilities and accomplish, stimulate and enliven the sa Riera Park.

The City Council of Palma submitted to the Council for Trade and Industry the economic evaluation concerning the Lluís Sitjar site as the proposal for the future location of the trade fair premises. The two evaluations amount to 13.9 million euros and to 14.7 million euros respectively (demolition excluded).

The City Council had committed to publicise the results of the economic evaluations commissioned - one of them carried out by the municipal experts and the second evaluation carried out by an independent expert of acknowledged prestige - in order to give the Council for Trade and Industry the opportunity, should it consider appropriate, to initiate the acquisition procedure.

In November of last year, the Council for Trade and Industry announced the decision to choose the Lluís Sitjar as the possible location for the trade fair premises. Since then, an economic analysis of the Lluís Sitjar site has been underway.

Given that this option gave rise to some difficulties in the month of July 2009 ¿ within the scope of the report concerning the strategic reservation of the Son Bordoy site -, the Town Planning Department of the City Council of Palma initiated in July a research on the alternatives for the future location of the trade fair centre. This research culminated in November with the proposal of the Lluís Sitjar site.

The City Council of Palma defends the decision to develop the trade fair premises on the Lluís Sitjar site as it considers this is the most advantageous option for the City. Apart from being appropriate for the location of the trade fair premises (it complies with the project requirements envisaged by the Council for Trade), it is an opportunity to enhance a deteriorated area, provide four neighbourhoods within the city with sports facilities, accomplish the green belt and enliven the sa Riera park.

A) Evaluation of the Lluís Sitjar site

Sale value of the Lluís Sitjar stadium

Plaça Barcelona, nr. 15. Es Fortí

Classification of the land: Urban

Qualification of the land: General sports facility EQ For socio-cultural purposes, complementary use 45% of the total.

Surface: 25,262 m2

Buildable surface: 1.2 m2/m2

1. Report made by the Department for Project Evaluation

Town Planning Information of the City Council of Palma

Surface x buildable surface x impact on the value of housing x Coefficient housing unit / equipment

25,262 m2 x 1.2 m2/m2 x 872.36 €/m2 x 0.5925 = 15,668,703.96 €

Expenses for demolition + indirect costs (30%) = 1,690,000 €

Value excluding demolition expenses: 13,978,703.96 €

2. Town planning evaluation report. Pere González Nebreda

Surface x buildable surface x yield

25,262 m2 x 1,2 m2/m2 x 579.18 €/m2 = 17,557,442.71 €

Expenses for demolition and urbanisation = 2,757,788.95 €

Market value excluding demolition expenses = 14,799,653.77 €

B) Research concerning the location alternatives available for the trade fair premises

Research concerning the PGOU Plan of Palma for the development of a trade fair centre

Summary. November 2009

History:

1. Territorial Plan, includes the airport option

2. Public tender to choose the sites

3. Requirements to be met by the future trade fair premises: 10,000 m2, for small trade fairs with up to 6,000 visitors/day approximately.

Criteria established by the City Council of Palma

a) It considers unnecessary the measures envisaging a urban transformation that imply the classification of new building land.

The site or land to be allocated for the development of the trade fair premises must be classified as a general community facility for social-cultural purposes or may be developed complementary, under the same roof, to the site allocated for this purpose (45%).

b) Principles of: accessibility, mobility, suitability

All the sites are classified as a general socio-cultural facility, all accomplished and in operation. Examples: Casal Solleric, Almudaina, etc.

Analysis of 6 alternatives: All of them located in different areas within the city, including the two options proposed by the Council for Industry (Son Bordoy and the stadium Estadi Balear)

1. Airport. This option has been discarded by Trade Fairs and Congresses due to its cost.

2. Strategic reservation of the Son Bordoy site. Discarded due to its use and to not being considered as a general facility.

3. Estadi Balear stadium. This option has been discarded due to not being a general facility and for a lack of accessibility and mobility, considering the future measures to be developed regarding the modifications of the M-20 highway and the possible modification of the Steering Plan for Roads.

4. Son Dureta. Discarded due to the envisaged purpose in the future: creation of a health care facility or support services and the envisaged opening to the Bellver's forest.

5. Son Garcies. It is appropriate not to include this site given that it has not been envisaged throughout the entire process of analysis and development of the future Platja de Palma Tourist Restructuring Plan. Besides, it is not a general facility, a fact that would imply a long-term procedure.

6. Lluís Sitjar. The most central and accessible option. It is the option that best fits the city model. Besides, the possibility to accomplish the sa Riera green belt and a positive impact on the economy of the surrounding neighbourhoods are factors that support this option: the neighbourhoods of Es Forti, Son Cotoner, Camp de Serralta and Son Dameto.

Mobility is ensured thanks to the access to the public transport network, minimum inconveniences given the number of visitors and their dispersion over time. 50% of the visitors will be able to access the site by foot or by public transport. Hence, approximately 1,400 parking spaces will be required: 600 on the site itself, 300 on the sa Riera parking, 141 exterior parking places. The building of a car park is envisaged (for residents) right next to Plaça Barcelona and will be providing a total of 250 parking places.

The technical director of the Town Planning Department, Antoni Planas, the councillor of the Town Planning Department of the City Council of Palma, Yolanda Garví and the manager of the Town Planning Department, Bartomeu Tugores