The Santa Eulària Town Council has confirmed the fine of 905,137.61 euros to the promoter of the illegal campsite of Can Rovalocated in es Puig d’en Valls, for a serious infringement of the Urban Planning Law of the Balearic Islands.
The penalty, approved at the last meeting of the Local Government Board, is at the highest level allowed by current regulations and is in response to the operation of an illegal settlement dismantled in 2024.
The fine has been imposed without reductions, since the Consistory has considered as an aggravating circumstance that the developer obtained economic benefits by renting the plots without authorization. At the same time, the City Council ordered the removal of all elements of the settlement, a measure that has also been complied with by the owners of the property, which has allowed the land to recover its original state.
A clandestine settlement with lucrative purposes
The Can Rova estate, of 26,000 square meters, is classified as Common Rustic Land with the category of Transition Area, which prevents its use for activities such as those that were developed there. However, at the time of the municipal intervention, a total of 103 elements used as accommodation were documented, including wooden huts, caravans, motor homes, tents, a container and even a minibus and a truck adapted as a dwelling.
The investigations determined that the person responsible for the settlement charged between 500 and 700 euros per month for each of these spaces, which brought him significant economic benefits at the expense of a completely illegal activity. This fact has been key in determining the amount of the fine, which is equivalent to 212.5% of the total value of the constructions detected on the estate, according to calculations made by the technical and legal services of the City Council.
Execution of the municipal order and restoration of the site
In addition to the financial penalty, the Consistory issued an enforcement order for the developer and his brothers, owners of the property, to proceed with the removal of all illegal elements. The municipal intervention was carried out in 2024 and involved the complete dismantling of the settlement, which housed dozens of people in irregular conditions.
Once all structures and debris have been removed, the property has been returned to its original state, in accordance with urban planning regulations. The City Council has confirmed that the clean-up and clearance work has been completed satisfactorily, ensuring that the land will not continue to be used for illegal activities in the future.
An open legal process
The sanctioned responsible now has the possibility to file an appeal for reconsideration before the City Council itself or to appeal the sanction through the contentious-administrative route in the Courts. However, the Consistory has reiterated that the resolution adopted complies with current legislation and that the municipal action has been based on solid technical and legal reports.
