As the deadline for the beach bars to be completely dismantled has expired , the Consell de Formentera has sent a letter to the Directorate General of Coasts and Coast in which it requests “as a precautionary measure the suspension of the obligation to dismantle the beach bars between January 15 and February 15“.
In the letter, which was made public this morning, the minority government of the Sa Unió coalition bows to the interests of the beach bars awarded in the contest under suspicion, who want to avoid dismantling the structures, something established in the Coastal Regulations, in the concession of Costas and also included in the bidding documents and in the contract signed between the parties.
Closing instead of disassembling
From the Consell detailed that “it will be communicated to the licensees of the establishments that cease the activity and close between the aforementioned period while there is no resolution in order to avoid irreparable damage”.
First lie
According to the Consell de Formentera, this last minute request is based, “firstly, because the regulation does not detail at any time the definition of season nor does it indicate in which months a season is fixed“. On this point, the Consell de Formentera considers that “it does refer to the fact that the establishments must be dismountable, but in no case that they must be dismantled every year”. However, the General Coastal Regulation, updated in 2014, establishes not only the obligation to install non-fixed modular structures for the operation of the beach bars but also to carry out the dismantling 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,” states the regulation. Then, from the insular administration they stumble over their own lie when they argue that “the rule is applicable throughout the territory, so the kiosks of other communities should also be dismantled in the same periods as they do in the Balearic Islands in accordance with the Resolution of Concession”. Although the concessionary title of Costas establishes that “the administrative concessions must be dismantled one month a year (during the first quarter of the year)“, from a municipal allegation presented in March 2023 it was established that “the annual obligation to dismantle is reduced to the period of one monthbetween January 15 and February 15 of each year“. The Consell set this condition to harmonize two contradictory principles: the obligation to dismantle one month during the first quarter established by Costas and to have open all year round to deseasonalize, a condition also set in the tender. This was also clarified by the legal-technical report of the Consell de Formentera issued last December 20 and has been ignored by Sa Unió.
Second lie: they are not removable
According to the Consell, the structures of the chiringuitos are “dismountable”, although it says that this does not mean that “they are easily dismantled as they are made with quality materials and have a great constructive complexity”. “As they are located in areas inaccessible to road traffic, their dismantling and assembly requires more time. As an example, the installation and commissioning took an average of 45 days working marathon days,” they state. Therefore, they consider that the dismantling of the facilities “will not be easy and will require a time that will not be less than 30 days, which means that, at least, the island will not have coastal services for several months and, therefore, will not meet the objective for which the administrative concession was requested, which was to provide service throughout the year”. However, a specialized company dedicated to the installation of wooden beach bars in modules prepared for beaches told La Voz de Ibiza that the dismantling of a removable beach bar requires only two days, as well as the installation of the same.
Third lie
In its argumentation, the Consell states that the kiosks “provide service throughout the year to the citizens of Formentera and visitors. In fact, it highlights the special social relevance of being a meeting point for residents and visitors and being a key element to promote the deseasonalization”. “In this sense, this offer rooted in the island creates stable jobs throughout the year, lengthens the tourist season and activates the local economy. In addition, it promotes more sustainable tourism policies, and creates higher quality experiences that allow you to enjoy the authentic Formentera,” they point out. In this sense, they point out that “the beach kiosks have lifeguards on their staffs, in addition to having the necessary elements to be able to make an immediate intervention in case of danger or risk to people”. However, on several occasions it has been denounced that the beach kiosks did not have lifeguards even in the middle of the summer season.
Closing yes, disassembly no
From the island administration recalled that the kiosks “have been mounted uninterruptedly for more than 10 years, since 2013, and have only been dismantled when there has been new tender.” “With all this, given the lack of definition of the rule and noting that there are economic, security, social and environmental reasons of great importance for the island, from the Consell de Formentera a precautionary measure is requested,” they argue. For this reason, the Consell de Formentera has informed all the concessionaires that, “provisionally and until the precautionary measures are resolved, not to proceed to dismantle the kiosk bars to avoid causing irreparable damage, but to cease the activity between January 15 and February 15, to collect the terraces and install an information sign indicating the temporary closure on the dates indicated, pending the resolution of the precautionary measures requested.
