The Consell Insular de Formentera will have to go through a complete new procedure after the confirmation of the expiration of the Special Plan for the port of La SavinaThe document that has caused the total paralyzation of the processing is the expiration of the Special Plan for the port of La Savina. The document that has caused the total paralyzation of the processing is the expiration of the Strategic Environmental Reportwhich became invalid on February 12. All despite the fact that the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) alerted the Consell to the imminence of the deadline. It did not help because the then councilor of Territory and Infrastructure, Javier Serra, president of Compromís, ignored the warnings. Since then, Serra has been reluctant to give an explanation for the negligence, despite repeated attempts by La Voz de Ibiza. The reality is that almost nine months later, the process is paralyzed and the proceedings with the Port Authority have not been restarted, according to what La Voz de Ibiza has been able to confirm. The APB has detailed to this media that “on May 14, 2024 a request to restart the environmental proceedings was sent to the Consell Insular de Formentera, without any reply so far“.
Change of roles
Until now, the processing of a special plan in the Balearic Islands was a shared work between the Port Authority and the municipality concerned. The distribution of roles has been that the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands, as promoter of the work, commissions and pays the companies that carry out the work. Its Board of Directors, after working together behind the scenes with the municipal administration, ends up approving them and sending them to the City Council. And it is the City Council, as the substantive body, which initially approves the special plan, manages the public exhibition period, answers the allegations and ends up definitively approving the urban planning instrument. From the APB’s reluctance to give explanations and from the scarce information provided so far by the port agency, it can be deduced that in this case, the APB has taken a side and has left all the responsibility to the Consell de Formentera.
Restart
According to the APB’s version, the Consell must restart the processing of the Special Plan. From the Consell they estimate that it will be faster than if they had to start it from scratch, since the documents only have to be updated and adapted to the new requirements that could have been incorporated in the period between the previous one and the one to be processed again. ”
Everything has to be presented again. But, in theory, it is presented the same, there is no alteration. “explained a source of the Consell Insular. In any case, the times will be dilated since the environmental processing has a minimum term of 18 months. And subsequently, there must be initial approval, public exhibition and final approval.
Environmental processing
To begin a new strategic environmental assessment process for the Special Plan for the Port of Formentera, several stages must be followed, namely: presentation of the draft and public consultation; preparation of the Strategic Environmental Study; plus integration into the initial version of the plan or program that is submitted for public information and consultation. Afterwards, it is adjusted according to the allegations received in order to prepare the final proposal for the subsequent issuance of the strategic environmental statement. Finally, this statement is incorporated into the plan or program, which is submitted for approval by the competent body, in this case the Plenary.
The effects of forfeiture
Contrary to what happens in the port of Ibiza, Formentera has a special plan in force. Therefore, the legal uncertainty that has surrounded the expansion of the port of Ibiza since the courts annulled in 1999 the special plan approved in 1993 does not occur. Since there is no urban planning instrument in force, the only works that have been carried out have been by virtue of their port interest. This is the case of the Botafoch Maritime Station. All the rest of the public and private actions contemplated in the plan and the millionaire investment that they entail are waiting for the Town Hall of Ibiza to answer the allegations and finally approve the plan. This is the reason that is forcing the APB to continue its policy of patching up the concessions. The latest examples are the dry dock, Marina Port Ibiza and Port Nautico Ibiza. The next case seems to be Marina Botafoch. La Savina has an obsolete instrument but in force since 1997, so it can execute all the actions that are contemplated in the current plan and do not contravene the future. This is the case of the two sports marinas that the Consell takes for granted that they will be tendered as a single concession. This is not the case of the dry marina, the subway parking lots, the relocation of the building of the Fishermen’s Guild and the improvements in mobility that the special plan that Javier Serra has let expire without anyone being able to give an explanation.
