Authorities clamp down on new Ibiza buildings

The decision to freeze building work on coastal sites in the Balearic islands of Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza could cost some developers millions of euros.

The Balearic islands’ council is currently working on legislation that should be enacted within a few days which is intended to prevent development in remaining natural areas of beauty and interest. It’s planned that protected zones will be extended, the minimum area required for permission to build a house will be increased to 200,000 square metres.

The socialist-led coalition government also intend to abolish the so-called “Cretu Law” which was introduced by the previous Partido Popular legislation to normalise developments such as the huge mountain-top villa owned by the Enigma star.

Although the clampdown on unfettered building was welcomed by many island residents, others were concerned about the impact on the local economy and their own income.

One Ibiza developer spoke to ThinkSpain Today on condition of anonymity. “I’ve brought millions of euros to Ibiza, not just from villa sales but for the construction workers I’ve employed. People like me have helped the island become rich.

“All the profits I’ve made I’ve poured back into the island. I’ve just paid almost three million for a beautiful plot which is big enough for three spectacular villas. The people who buy them will put their money into the island’s businesses as well. If I can’t build all three houses the figures won’t add up. People like me will quit the island and the economy will suffer,” he said.

Demolition time at Elle Macpherson's old Ibiza villa

The owner of the villa where Aussie supermodel Elle Macpherson used to spend her wild summers in Ibiza is threatened with a 50,000 euro fine and demolition costs for illegally altering a jetty so that nobody else could use it.

The public prosecutor claims the owner of the spectacular seafront villa built a wall up to two-metres high around a yacht landing stage designed for public use. Now the prosecutor’s asking for a 300-euro-a-day fine covering six months of alleged illegal occupation of the jetty.

(Note Elle Macpherson used to spend all her summers in Ibiza until about three years ago when she apparently lost it completely and headed off into rehab. She also sued the Sun successfully not long ago)

Ibiza-born natives outnumbered

Most people who live in Ibiza were not born on the island according to the latest official figures from the Economic and Social Council. In 2006 55.8 per cent of the population came from outside, mostly from mainland Spain. Over 90,000 of the island’s population of almost 114,000 are of Spanish nationality. Most of the rest are European or North Africa.

The figures represent a 2.5 per cent increase over 2006 which authorities say was caused by a combination of immigration and a booming birth-rate which far outweighs the number of deaths.

Unstung heroes of Ibiza's beaches

Ibiza’s tourists may have had to contend with an oil spill, closed clubs and occasional downpours, but they were spared a threatened invasion of jellyfish. The Red Cross said life guards in the San Antonio treated less than 1500 stung swimmers, a third less than they dealt with the year before.

Other municipalities didn’t report specific figures but said their experiences were in Line with San Antonio. Experts had warned of a plague of jellyfish because rising temperatures in the Mediterranean around Ibiza meant they would no longer need to head for warmer seas to breed.

Sounds of Ibiza

Figures collected during the peak holiday months in Ibiza Town showed that over a third of noise hotspots passed the 65 decibel limit laid down by the World Health Organisation. But it wasn’t Ibiza’s famous nightlife that was to blame for the racket.

It was general traffic that caused most of the misery, followed closely by public service vehicles such as buses, taxis and bin lorries. Clubs, bars and restaurants were a long way behind in third place.

Ibiza's unlikely new five-star gallery

Ibiza’s latest five-star attraction, the Granhotel overlooking the port, is to be one of only five hotels in the world which is catalogued like an art gallery. The spectacular building which combines a casino, upmarket restaurants, a spa and 157 suites will, the owners claim, be “alive with the contemporary work of emergent artists”. So far 16 artists from across Spain, Europe and the US have been offered the opportunity to display their work.

Why Ibiza's a crap holiday island

If you want an island holiday head for the freezing Faroes way off the coast of Denmark, or the Azores in the middle of the Atlantic or Scotland’s isolated Shetland Isles. Whatever you do avoid Ibiza, that was the message from a survey of experts by the prestigious National Geographic Traveler.

The magazine looked at 111 holiday islands around the world and asked 522 sustainable tourism experts to score them all. Ibiza received 37 points putting it equal bottom with St Thomas in the Virgin Islands, a former beauty spot which is now overwhelmed by millions of cruise ship tourists.

“Ibiza is not Spanish anymore. Or Balearic. It is a colony of Europe and, at times, seems more a colony of British ravers. Half the island is still 'natural.' The other half has been lost completely to the party circuit,” said one anonymous expert.

Another added: “Ibiza cannot get rid of the vicious circle it went through a few years ago. Booze, partying, and drugs are a big part of an increasingly sleazy scene.”

But they weren’t all totally negative: “Some might argue that Ibiza has been despoiled, but a closer inspection reveals much that is still appealing: centuries-old defense towers and churches; walks from beach to beach on largely unspoiled stretches with rocky outcrops; and beautiful views of Es Vedra rock off the southwest coast.”

There was also a ray of hope from the magazine’s editor Jonathan B Tourtellot who said that in resorts blessed with sun and sea development can soon get out of hands. “No surprise, then, that cloudy, beach-poor islands score well,” he said. Given the weather this autumn there’s still hope for Ibiza.

Suspended sentence for hopeless arsonist

A 21-year-old has been spared jail after a botched arson attempt in August 2006. He had bought petrol with the intention of setting fire to the car of his mother’s ex-boyfriend.

The boyfriend’s car was a Fiat Panda but the bungling burner got it mixed up with a Fiat Uno belonging to somebody else. Having set fire to the wrong car the flames spread to four other cars near the old cemetery on the outskirts of San Antonio. The heat from the blazing vehicles then set fire to 3,500 square metres of scrubland creating a spectacular show for many San Antonio tourists.

The culprit was caught after he handed himself into the police station with burnt feet. And the reason the local police were looking for him? An officer had earlier seen him buying the petrol. Asked what it was for the youth truthfully replied it was to set fire to a car. The cop thought he was joking.

Deaf whales

Whales and dolphins are being deafened by noise pollution in the seas around Ibiza. But it’s not the incessant beat of the island’s world-famous discos that’s causing the problems. It’s the increasing number of passenger ships, yachts and fishing boats that is threatening the fragile marine ecosystem.

Scientists warn that the noise around the Balearics, Canaries and in the Straits of Gibraltar could have a disastrous effect on the whale and dolphin population. The deafened mammals lose the ability to use their sonar systems and die when they are hit by boats.

Tax hike for absent home owners

Council chiefs in Ibiza’s biggest tourist resort are planning to slap a hefty tax penalty on owners of empty homes. It’s an attempt to increase the supply of properties available to let and drive down prices. Current rents are beyond the reach of many ordinary families.

“We have discovered in the municipality it is very difficult to places for less than 450 to 550 euros a month which puts a heavy load on many people, especially families of lower middle incomes,” said local housing chief Joan Pantaleoni. Where the council finds evidence through utility bills and so on that a place has been empty for a year the IBI tax may be increased by several hundred euros a year. Pantaleoni added that this was very much an experiment.

Taking the Micky in court

More than three years after the road rage incident which allegedly left Spanish TV actor and singer Micky Molina 44 permanently scarred, the British man Robert P will finally appear in court in February. The case was due to be heard in June.

The public prosecutor blames Robert P for attacking Molina with a sharp implement after a crash in the Ibiza resort of San Antonio. A sentence of three-and-a-half years is being requested although it’s possible that Molina’s lawyers will press for increase to five years for a charge of attempted murder.

Golf course row

Ibiza council chiefs have rejected another planned golf course which the developer Andria Investments claimed would be a 100 million euro investment in the island and would bring quality tourists year-round.

The course and a five-star hotel would have been built on the outskirts of San Antonio on the west of the island. A few weeks ago another planned golf development on the east at Playa d’en Bossa was rejected. The backer of that course is a leading member of the Partido Popular and the current council actions are seen by some as revenge following the PP’s loss of power in the May elections.

Hotspots using Trustive from Ibiza to Edinburgh via Barcelona

Hotspots using Trustive from Ibiza to Edinburgh via Barcelona

One of the mixed blessings of writing about technology is that I get to try the latest products including at the moment an “all you can eat” wi-fi hotspot service from Trustive. Getting to play with this stuff sounds fun, but it drives my wife nuts and it’s not always too much fun for me either.

As I write this I’m on my way back to Ibiza from Edinburgh, a trip which in this case involves a four-hour stopover in Barcelona. My plan was to do some work courtesy of the Trustive wi-fi hotspot freebie from “Trustive”. The service allows you to log into thousands of hotspots worldwide. Well that’s the theory.

Trustive’s free Hotspotter software can find eight wi-fi networks from the café where I’m sitting at the moment. Unfortunately I can’t log into any of them, at least not without paying. The frustrating thing is that according to the advertisement showing on Hotspotter there is a service in Barcelona airport which I can use. Unfortunately I’ve no idea which one.

I can also look for hotspots offline using a directory on Hotspotter. If I do that it tells me there’s no service in the airport. I guess the directory must be right and the advertisement’s wrong, although both are provided by Trustive. But there’s an added frustration to this.

My plan when I was in Edinburgh was to use some of the numerous hotspots in the city to keep up with work, emails and Facebook. First problem: finding anywhere with a Trustive-linked hotspot open on a Sunday evening in Scotland’s capital city, at least anywhere conducive to working. Second problem: logging on.

I eventually found a branch of the trendy All Bar One pub chain in the business district which was both quiet and open. Logging on was rather more of a problem. Hotspotter could find the network, but I couldn’t get in, even though log-in was supposed to be automatic. Vista on my laptop could find the network and give me a log-on option. But although I’d entered the information into my Hotspotter software, I didn’t have the details available except in my Gmail account. I had to get online to retrieve them.

In the end I paid to get online to get the details. It was the only way to get my user name and password. They worked. But my success was short-lived. My log-on lasted no longer than ten minutes before I was thrown offline. Two hours in the pub was worth half an hour in an office, in terms of achievement. I even stayed sober.

The following day I made my next attempt. After half an hour I worked out that the problem was Vista and Hotpotter overlapping. Logging on and just using Vista worked fine. Trouble is the only way of finding if a network is available is using Hotspotter. And that leaves me sitting here disconnected in Barcelona. (And this was uploaded to my blog 24 hours later.)