There is less than a week left until January 15, the date on which the beach kiosks of Formentera are obliged to dismantle their facilities for a period of 30 days. An obligation that has been ratified by the Balearic Government, but on which the Consell insular will seek to mediate for the benefit of the concessionaires, who refuse to remove their structures from the beaches.
The Conselleria del Mar y del Cicle del Agua of the Govern has confirmed to Ràdio Illa that the beach kiosks will have to be dismantled between January 15 and February 15. Anyway, the Govern has said that, already for 2026, “could study the possibility” of suspending the obligation to dismantle the beach kiosks, “provided that this request is formally raised”. That is to say, that the request is from the Consell. Last month La Voz de Ibiza published a legal report of the Consell de Formentera in which doubts of concessionaires were clarified. The report recalled that the resolution of the Directorate General of the Coast and Sea of the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, which has granted the concession of the beach service area to the Consell, reads as follows:
“Article 68 of the General Coastal Regulation specifies the dimensions, distances, and temporality of food and beverage establishments on natural beaches. It is about, with the minimum occupancy (which is also limited by requiring significant distances to other establishments also vending food and beverages), and with removable facilities, provide services in high season to beach users. Therefore, the requirement for the permanence and occupation of these stretches is maximum and it cannot be understood that there is a need to occupy the demanio out of season with a large number of users on the beach. However, the municipal allegation presented in March 2023 can be accepted, and the annual obligation to dismantle can be reduced to the period of one month between January 15 and February 15 of each year”. This same text is included in the contracts signed by the concessionaires of the beach kiosks. In other words, the owners of Formentera’s beach kiosks knew they would have to dismantle, something they now object to.
The role of the Consell de Formentera
After the aforementioned legal report ratifying the obligation to dismantle the beach kiosks, Sa Unió removed Llorenç Córdoba from the presidency and a new political stage began on the island. Already with the new Governing Board operational, the Councilor for the Environment, Verónica Castelló, has told Ràdio Illa that she plans to send a formal request to the Govern to prevent the beach kiosks from having to be dismantled. She has clarified that “it will have to be taken into account that any change will also depend on the Ministry [de Transición Ecológica]” and that “from the conselleria [del Mar y del Ciclo del Agua] we are aware of the impact that this means for the concessionaires and we are open to assess options that can facilitate their activity, respecting the current legal framework.” An alternative that Castelló has put on the table is that the kiosks remain where they are, although closed.
Dealer claims
The concessionaires of the beach kiosks, meanwhile, are pushing to avoid the obligation to dismantle. In fact, on December 16, concessionairesof lots 3, 19, 24, 35, 38, 43 and 50 presented a formal claim to the Consell de Formentera. One of their arguments is that this implies disbursing close to 50,000 euros. “It is an implicit way of admitting that their kiosks are not removable, a condition required by the Coastal Regulations,” a former concessionaire complained to La Voz de Ibiza. The current beach bar lessors also allude that, in addition to the month in which the kiosk would be closed, they could add up to two months for assembly and disassembly tasks. On the other hand, the concessionaires point out that in the specifications of the kiosk tender, tendered in November 2021 does not mention the obligation to dismantle kiosks, something established a year and a half later when the concession was made, by the Directorate General of the Coast and Sea of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, to the Consell. Their complaint is that they could not contemplate costs associated with the dismantling at the time of bidding. However, the obligation does appear in the subsequent award contract.
