Dismantling a lie. So could be titled the last chapter of the scandal of the megaconcurso under suspicion of the beach bars of Formentera by the insubordination of the concessionaires to remove the structures. the concessionaires’ refusal to remove the structures for a month. for a month. This obligation, stipulated in the General Regulation of Coasts, was expressly included in the technical specifications of the tender and had been alerted in the report of a prestigious professor of the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB).
This was established in the analysis carried out by Felio Bauzá Martorell, doctor in Law, professor of administrative law at the UIB and accredited for the Corps of University Professors. This report was made at the request of the then president of the PP of Formentera, José Manuel Alcaraz, who proposed that the elaboration of the opinion was carried out by Felio Bauzá before the crisis broke out. At that time, before the scandal was unleashed by the mega tender under suspicion uncovered by La Voz de Ibiza, he advised to cancel the bidding procedure by considering that there was no possibility of updating the specifications to the current economic situation after the price increase of the last two years, which implied an excessive risk of bankruptcy of the concessionaires. “The Consell de Formentera has no other way out in law but to agree the decision not to award and to desist from the procedure,” he concluded.
Disassembly obligation
The professor clarifies in that report that in the “Basic project of request for administrative concession for the facilities of the beach services of the coast of Formentera 2022-2027”, signed in June 2021, it is specified that the “seasonal elements” such as kiosks with terrace and bathing, sailing schools, lifeguard towers, first aid modules and platform for the disabled, must be “removable”. The same is stipulated in Article 68 of the General Coastal Regulation, basic state legislation included in the regulatory framework used by Felio Bauzá.
It establishes not only the obligation to install non-fixed modular structures for the operation of the beach bars, but also to dismantle them at the end of each season.
“The seasonal services may have an authorization for a maximum period of four years, although the facilities must be dismantled after the end of each of the seasons included in the term of duration of the authorization,” it states. In that line, Felio Bauzá records that on March 27, 2023 the Consell “accepted the conditions and prescriptions indicated for the granting of the referenced concession” and presented a resolution of the Presidency with some manifestations. Among them was “the time in which the facilities must remain dismantled, to mitigate the effect of the tourist seasonality and in order to improve the productive fabric of the island”. In this sense, it urges “the possibility of reducing the time in which the facilities have to remain dismantled to one month, within the annual period, in the first quarter of the year”. Therefore, it concludes that this requirement to dismantle “is expressly stated, although it should be noted that in the specifications the installation of removable elements was contemplated, which is due to the possibility of relocating the facilities according to the dynamics of the coast”.
The sheet does not lie
In addition to what is established in the administrative specifications, which determines that all administrative concessions should “be dismantled one month a year (during the first quarter of the year) and temporary concessions at the end of the season”, the technical specifications leave no room for doubt. According to point 9.2.9, the structures “shall be easily disassembled, being required to be assembled by means of prefabricated modular systems that facilitate installation and reduce start-up time”.
Article 110 of the Regulation specifies what is meant by “demountable facilities“. Those that:
- At the most, they will require specific foundation works, which, in any case, will not protrude from the ground.
- Are made up of prefabricated series elements, modules, panels or similar, without on-site processing of materials or use of welding.
- They are assembled and disassembled by sequential processes, being able to be erected without demolition and being easily transportable as a whole.
Do not appear to be easily removable
The specification of “easily removable” structures collides with the facts and the statements of the beach bar licensees themselves. Recently, Juanjo Costa, in charge of the kiosk at Migjorn – who was ‘authorized’ to bury pipes without a license under the protected dunes, had argued in Ràdio Illa that this requirement meant staying without beach establishments for three months: one to assemble, one to disassemble and the month without facilities.
However, a company dedicated to the installation of wooden beach bars in modules prepared for beaches, told La Voz de Ibiza that the whole operation takes only four days: two days for dismantling and two days for reinstallation.
I knew it
In the last few days, Verónica Castelló, the new councillor for the Environment, has maintained that the current situation is due to “the lack of political inaction of the previous councilor for Litoral“(Llorenç Córdoba, former insular president) and declared that “the government team of Sa Unió has always had the political will and responsibility to act for the good of the general interest of Formentera and its citizens”. At the time of the awarding of the beach bars, despite the strong report of the professor and the position of Cordoba proposing to declare the contest desert, Castelló chaired the Governing Board exceptionally in April 2024 and endorsed granting the current licenses under suspicion and for which she was questioned by the UCO of the Guardia Civil. In addition, Castelló was aware of this obligation to dismantle that ratifies the professor, occupying at that time the position of first vice president and councilor of Mobility and Environment in the Consell Insular de Formentera.
