Cover Photo: Xescu Prats It’s War! Ibiza’s old school clubs declare war on new generation of open-air venues. Privilege and Es Paradis denounce two Ibiza mayors Slow In this issue we report on two fatal road traDown!ffic The 32 year old mother was walking close to her place for not acting against music hotels and beach clubs. accidents on Ibiza’s roads. of work, the Volkswagen dealership, close to the Cepsa Both were the death of pedestrians in locations A war between the traditional clubs of Ibiza and the where there was no pavement—highlighting the petrol station. She was hit by one car following it being new breed of hotels and beach clubs offering open air need for us all to drive with caution wherever we hit by another in a collision just before 9am. Full report music has begun. are, but particularly in those many areas of the on page 7. island that do not have pavements. The owners of Privilege and Es Paradis, two of Ibiza’s On Saturday 4th February, a 68-year-old woman died oldest discos which have been operating since the Vanessa Patricio died Thursday morning, the 9th of after being hit by a car on the road from Santa Eulalia (Continued on page 3) February, after being hit by a vehicle as she walked to San Carlos, at a notorious accident blackspot. Report along the side of a road close to the airport. on Page 3.
The Ibizan, Issue 854, February 2017 links are live in the online edition at theibizan.com Page 2 News “Don’t Blame Tourism, Blame the Landlords” The sentiments of Lawyers Sergio Carrasco and Naihara Cardona speaking at a conference titled ‘What have we achieved in a year and a half fighting against illegal rentals?'
The lawyers’ were sharing a platform rasco and Cardona made it clear that with Luis Gonzaga, the man behind the tourism is not to blame for this social group campaigning on behalf of Ibiza problem. residents affected by crippling rental "The final culprit is the Landlord," they prices. maintained. However, they insisted that The conference was held at the Diario de an owner cannot be forced to lower the Ibiza club on Thursday 9th of February. rental price and stressed that the term Attendees heard that the public authori- "illegal", used by some politicians to de- ties face an impossible task in any at- scribe the situation in the Balearics is tempt to regulate rental prices as such is false and misleading. outside the scope of the law and subject "The law is very clear and details per- only to the unwritten law of supply and fectly what homes can be offered for demand. They say that this has resulted tourist letting," Cardona said. The lawyer in an ever escalating price spiral which was referencing what many parties claim has become out of control and leaves local to be ambiguity in the wording of tenancy people unable to find a fair rent for annu- and letting laws, creating a grey area al letting. which some say encourages the letter of Added to this problem is what they de- the law to be ignored. scribe as the ‘inaction of the institutions Both lawyers criticized the politicians to combat illegal holiday homes’ and the who use the ambiguity in the law as a ‘sense of impunity that attracts specula- reason not to impose it, saying that it tors to the island who manage a large should instead be "persecuted and pun- number of houses’. ished." Luis Gonzaga warned, the situation "is Following the speeches of the lawyers, a Monday the 6th of February marked getting worse" and argued that the most public question and answer session was effective measure is to inform the Balear- opened. The Queen's Sapphire Jubilee ic Islands Tax Agency of illegal leases. First to speak was Ibiza’s Director of It has been 65 years since Her Majesty acceded to the throne. For this reason, the group distributed Tourism, Vicent Torres, who provoked On 6 February 1952, King George VI died following a prolonged illness. Princess among the about 200 attendees copies of the booing of several people from the Elizabeth immediately acceded to the throne, becoming Queen Elizabeth II and taking a document from the Balearic Islands audience when he defended the move to on all of the responsibilities which came with her new title. Tax Agency giving information on how legalise the rental of tourist apartments In the photograph, The Queen is wearing a suite of sapphire jewellery given to her by to report Landlords for tax offences. in current legislation being processed King George VI as a wedding gift in 1947. Current law through the Balearic government. Photo by David Bailey as released by the palace At the beginning of the conference, Car-
its regional business was acquired by Flybe. Since then, Vueling and Iberia Express, subsidiaries of International Airways Group British Airways (IAG), a British Airways partner, have launched services from Birmingham to Alican- te, Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga and Tenerife. connect Birmingham and Bristol with Ibiza British Airways ceased offering flights from Birmingham and Bristol in 2007 Adding to the seemingly never ending list of additional Ibiza flights for 2017, British airways have confirmed they are to begin operating direct flights in May from British airports in Birmingham and Bristol to Ibiza, Malaga and Palma, once a week and also on weekends. British Airways Commercial Director General Luke Hayhoe said that the airline’s cus- tomers "have expressed clearly and directly" that they want to fly to these destinations. British Airways stopped offering flights from Birmingham and Bristol in 2007, when
The Ibizan, Issue 854, February 2017 links are live in the online edition at theibizan.com Page 3 News Businesses Fatal RTA at Support No San Carlos Means No Blackspot On Saturday 4th Febru- Campaign ary, a 68-year-old wom- Ibiza’s Minister of Social an died after being hit by Welfare, Health and a car on the road from Equality, Lydia Jurado Santa Eulalia to San Car- has met with the Presi- los. dent of the business asso- The woman crossed the ciation group PIMEEF, road about 50 metres Alfonso Rojo and Vice from the Sa Rota shop President Consuelo An- when she was hit by the tunez, with the aim of car driven by a young promoting awareness and man. the dissemination of the The accident happened No Means No campaign around 11.30am in an against sexual harass- area considered to be an ment. accident blackspot. This follows a meeting Emergency services at- last week where both tended however, para- Lydia Jurado and the medics pronounced her islands Director of Equal- dead at the scene after ity, Judith Romero, met attempts to revive her with representatives of Battle of the Balls, Mirror vs Beach. were unsuccessful. CAEB to enlist their sup- port. Both groups have been very receptive to the pro- It’s War: Clubs vs Open Air
posals presented having (Continued from page 1) other venues with no action taken by the authorities” given their commitment 1970s, have denounced the mayors of San Jose and affirm the complainants. to publicising the cam- San Antonio, who they accuse of allowing the ever Privilege and Es Paradis employed a private detective paign in the organisations expanding open air venues of ‘flouting permitted noise to take decibel readings in several hotels and beach Photo: the scene of the they represent, and to accident in which a 68yr levels’. clubs. These regularly recorded sound at around 100dB old woman died participate in round table The mayor of San Jose, Josep Mari Ribas, and his San where the maximum allowed is at most 65dB “the mu- meetings with employers Antonio counterpart, Jose Tur, have been reported by nicipalities do nothing and the local police are far more Editorial comment: and trade unions to eradi- It always grinds my gears the clubs for failing to prosecute a crime, specifically concerned with the taxi’s arriving at the venues than when people ask where cate sexual harassment against the environment by not controlling the noise they are noise regulations” said lawyer of the public Ibiza’s speed traps are lo- and sexist attitudes with- cated. Why ask? Just slow and music of several venues. prosecution Joan Cerda. down. in business. The complainants state that they have spent millions of The detectives report was included in the complaint The police report does not “The positive outcome of say whether this accident euros in recent years to soundproof and cover their together with a similar commission by the political par- was caused by a car driving these meetings is that nightclubs fol- too quickly, but way too each group will use their many accidents on Ibiza’s lowing regula- he municipalities do nothing and the local police are far more concerned secondary main roads are own strengths in promot- caused by speeding. People tions, which with the taxi’s arriving at the venues than they are noise regulations” ing the campaign within drive them as if there are forced party Joan Cerda, Public Prosecutor, Speaking of Outdoor Music Venues. no pedestrians and/or in- their own environments,” gress/egress points. establishments “T Minister Jurado said. Ironically a lot of the metal to enclose their venues to avoid noise pollution. ty Epic in 2013 which stated that noise pollution on barriers being installed are “The No Means No cam- making it even more unsafe “We spent about 6m€ on the soundproofing of Privi- one of the hotels identified reaches residential areas for pedestrians by forcing paign was initially pro- lege” said Jose Maria Etxaniz, one of the clubs partners over 3km away. them to walk in the road moted in the leisure sec- where they could have as reported in El Pais. Etxaniz went on to say that Reacting to the complaints, San José's mayor Ribas previously used the verge. tor, including Ibiza’s some of his counterparts “have been ruined” in at- stated that their town hall have initiated more than Personally I do not under- nightclubs but has gradu- stand why huge sums are tempting to comply with noise regulations. 200 cases against those breaching noise regulations. being spent on cycle lanes ally expanded and now “We cannot be accused of doing when so many areas don’t also encompasses other even have a pavement. hat was prosecuted and persecuted a few years ago in nothing against certain premis- Cycle lanes are great, but in areas including Ibiza’s our establishments has appeared again at other ven- es,” he said after appearing terms of priority surely a business community.” pavement has to be higher ues with no action taken by the authorities before the judge hearing the on the list? “W As a footnote to a report complaints. this week regarding a po- Their complaint argues that these regulations are not San Antonio mayor Tur reported to the proceedings lice clampdown on foreign plated cars, there was men- being applied in the flourishing music hotel sector, who that the borough have filed 2 complaints through the tion of forthcoming Police offers concerts and outdoor events with apparent impu- criminal court against venues accused of breaching training in the use of mo- bile speed radar equip- nity. They also complain of the beach club sector, noise regulations. ment. Though as a motorist which has proliferated in recent years, and they say El Pais reported that both mayors consider themselves the natural reaction is to resist such measures, frank- Photo: Lydia Jurado have live music without the same regulations being victims in what they consider is a business battle be- ly Ibiza needs teaching a meets with representa- applied. “What was prosecuted and persecuted a few tween the clubs. lesson. tives of employers association group years ago in our establishments has appeared again at PIMEEF The Ibizan, Issue 854, February 2017 links are live in the online edition at theibizan.com Page 4 News Foreign Registered Car Crackdown In San An Police trained in methods of foreign vehicle identification and permissions. The local police of San Antonio had 21 police officers attend a training course held by the police forces own education department at the beginning of February. The course is designed to equip police officers with knowledge on how they can check foreign plated vehi- cles to ascertain whether they are on the island legally. It is worthy of note that the UK DVLA have online facilities to check whether UK plated cars have current tax and MOT in place and/or are under a SORN off road certificate. This will presumably simplify the job of the police in ascertaining whether they are here legiti- mately on a short term/tourist basis, or are one of the accepted many that have remained on the island far longer than is permissible without transferring the vehi- cle to Spanish registration. The four-day course is part of an ongoing education Scene of the rockfall and mudslide. Photo J A Riera programme for 2017 which covers subjects such as dealing with evictions and public disorder, use of defib- rillators and resuscitation methods and use of mobile Es Cubells Landslides speed control radar equipment. Roads closed and residents evacuated following landslides on the Es Cubells cliffs.
On 1st February, San Jose town hall closed access The council said they needed to be cautious before roads around the Es Cubells coastline following land- something serious happened and though many of the slides with large rocks detaching from the Cliffside. houses were not permanently occupied, they had advised Additionally, mayor Josep Mari Ribas issued a decree the owners of the need to evacuate. The mayor visited forcing residents to evacuate 15 houses located between the affected area and confirmed that a study has been Ses Boques and Cala Llentrisca. commissioned to determine what strategy will be re- The move follows reports from local police during the quired going forward. week of rock falls and mudslides on the Es Cubells cliffs.
3 drivers were found to that a minimum fine of be in breach of other reg- 1000€ will be payable by Ibiza’s Can Misses Hospital ulations, including the drivers caught whilst Suspends All Operations Due possession of marijuana. twice over the drink drive The offences carry penal- limit, and/or in all cases to Fly Infestation ties of fines between for reoffending drink Report 26th January 2017 500€ and 1000€. Alcohol drivers, and/or all drivers and drug infringements found under the influence Urgent operations transferred to be undertaken in Mallorca. can result in up to 12 of drugs. 56 operations have been cancelled Thursday and points on a driving li- See our forthcoming fea- Friday the 26th and 27th of January cense and other offences ture on Spain's drink and Can misses hospital director Josep Balanzat, has an- between 4 and 6 points. drive regulations. nounced that all but two of the hospital’s operating In a statement issued to theatres have been closed following an infestation of press, it was confirmed Ibiza Town flies. that the sting is part of a 9 Nabbed in San Jose The announcement was made Thursday 26th January, campaign to be held To Sant Jordi and it was confirmed that 36 operations due to be un- throughout the year at Drink Drive Sting Cycle Lane dertaken on Thursday, and a further 20 on Friday, different times and loca- Works to complete a new have been cancelled as a result. Sant Josep de sa Talaia (approximately 3 times tions. cycle path linking Ibiza For urgent operations where it is possible to safely local police held a special the legal limit), and will The rules town to the Sant Jordi move the patient, a transfer to the hospital in Mallorca operation to catch drink appear in fastracked Spain's drink driving hippodrome are said to be will be made. and drug drivers over the court proceedings as a laws are stricter than the progressing well. Only those most urgent operations where the patient weekend of Saturday result. Further action will UK. In Spain the legal The path has been com- cannot be transferred will be undertaken in the two 28th and Sunday 29th be taken against all those limit is 0.5mg of alcohol pleted as far as the ceme- theatres that remain open in Can Misses. January. found over the legal limit. per ml of blood. In the tery. When completed it Following the discovery of ‘many flies’ in the operating 9 drivers were found As an additional result of UK, the limit is 0.8mg. will allow a safe cycle wing a specialist pest control company has been called driving over the permit- the vehicle checks, 8 Spanish rules also dictate journey from the capital in and management are confident they will be able to re ted alcohol limit. Two of drivers were found not to that new drivers have to through to Sant Jordi -open the theatres on Monday. and all those procedures those accused exceeded have current ITV (MOT) adhere to lower levels. and the hippodrome, the cancelled will be rescheduled as soon as possible. 0.6mg per millilitre of certification and/or car From the 9th May 2014, home of the Saturday flea exhaled air insurance. Spanish regulations state market. The Ibizan, Issue 854, February 2017 links are live in the online edition at theibizan.com Page 5 News Police Prosecute Santa Eulalia Smokers Bar Patrol Officers alerted by suspicious behaviour of smoker who ran inside bar when spotting their presence. The Local Police of Santa Eulària denounce a bar in Calle de la Mar after verifying that their clients had smoked inside The City of Santa Eulària has opened disciplinary pro- ceedings against a bar in the Calle del Mar , in the city centre of the town, for allowing smoking inside the premises. This is contrary to law 32/2010 on health measures to combat smoking. The amount of the penalty in such cases can be between 601 and 10,000 euros. Local Police agents in Santa Eulària issued the action on Friday 3rd of February at 11.15pm According to the Consistory in a statement, the police were circulating in an official vehicle in prevention and surveillance when they observed that a woman was smoking at the door of the bar. Ibiza will become an ‘electric vehicle friendly island’. Realizing the presence of the agents, according to the account of the City, the smoking person ran back into the bar without extinguishing the cigarette. With suspi- cions aroused by this "abrupt and suspicious" behaviour, Electric Vehicles Promoted which was itself an infraction of the law, agents parked Consell and five municipalities agree on plan to promote electric vehicles on the island the vehicle and entered the bar to identify the woman. Inside, the police found that there was a lot of smoke in The President of Ibiza Consell, Vicente Torres and ment system to allow inter-operability of the network of the environment and "a strong stench of tobacco" and "a Transport Minister, Marc Pons met with the mayors of charging stations including those of the Consell and large number of cigarette butts." five Ibiza municipalities to sign an agreement initiating Town Hall. a pilot project aiming to promote electric vehicles on the With the system in place, any user can use any charging island. The agreement gives a framework of participa- point. “Penniless & Homeless tion for the island government and each of the five town In addition to the physical infrastructure required, the halls to coordinate the process of integration of the in- ministry will undertake promotional activities aimed at is No Excuse for Benefit frastructure needed to make Ibiza an electric vehicle business sectors including car rental companies and tour friendly island. operators. Fraud” In a statement to the press, the Consell stated that the Vehicles that comply with the requirements of the A Briton who lived in Mazarrón, in southwest Spain, use of electric vehicles is becoming more attractive to MELIB technology will be able to use the municipal and claimed that being penniless and homeless had left users and thus the time was right to put in place charging points free of charge for a minimum of two him no choice but to make a fraudulent claim for benefit measures necessary to realise the use of electric vehicles years from the commencement of the initiative. has been handed two suspended prison sentences and at a practical level. Further advantages to electric vehicle users will be free ordered to repay in full the wrongfully claimed cash. The Balearic regional government through the Ministry parking in addition to motor vehicle tax credits. 69-year-old Michael Dugdale from Preston failed to of Land, Energy and Mobility supports the initiative. Further information is available at the website declare that he owned 50% of a property in Mazarrón, http://melib.caib.es Their role will be to implement a centralised manage- Murcia when making a claim for Pension Credit in
2007. An important detail which he again omitted on a review claim form 3 years later, in 2010. Gamer’s Delight; Rainbow Six Siege comes to Ibiza Following an anonymous tip-off via the Benefit Fraud Uber gaming software developer the white island map due for launch in for,” Ubisoft said. “Daytime is a hazy Hotline, DWP fraud teams based in the UK and Spain Ubisoft have announced that Ibiza is February 2017. afternoon on a hot summer day after a one of their new locations for their The new add on, titled ‘Operation Vel- long night out.” launched an investigation into his claim to uncover the gaming title Tom Clancey’s Rainbow vet Shell’, will take players on a trip to Magazine PC Gamer said it “Sounds truth. Six Siege. “the rocky shore of Ibiza, Spain.” like a great place to be, except for all Below you can see the video trailer for “Get ready for an effervescent night those people shooting at you wherev- Despite initially denying any wrongdoing, Dugdale was the new release, together with a gam- ambience with neon lights of bars and er you go.” finally forced to admit to the fraud when presented with er’s eye view of what will be offered in open-air parties, which Ibiza is famous the Spanish property documents clearly showing that he owned 50% of the Spanish property with his ex- partner. Dugdale stated that his dire economic situation on his return to the UK from Spain in 2007 had left him no choice but to make a bogus claim for a benefit he knew he was not entitled to. He pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court to two charg- es of benefit fraud totalling over £35,000 and was giv- en two 8-month suspended prison sentences for each charge and ordered to repay the stolen funds in full or face imprisonment. In a press release issued by the British Embassy in Ma- drid, they said there were ‘No excuses for benefit fraud’.
The Ibizan, Issue 854, February 2017 links are live in the online edition at theibizan.com Page 6 Club News
Hï confirm Black Coffee & UNER Defected in the Hood For those that don’t know, which by our reckoning won’t be many, Hï Ibiza is the new name for the Space venue in Playa Defected confirm Eden as their house for 2017 It just fits doesn’t it? The brand, the style, the crowd. d’en Bossa. It’s almost all change behind the scenes of the Ushuaïa It is a shame that Ladbrookes do not have a betting line It’s great news for San An, great news for Ibiza, and owned venue, with an almost all new management team in open on Ibiza nightclubs as we might have made a good many would say as far as Dermot’s T-shirt choices are the backrooms of the former Space Ibiza building. Hï has announced their opening party on May 28th. Mixmag few euros on this one. concerned, great news for fashion too. have speculated that Black Coffee and UNER could be Speaking of their decision to return to Ibiza at Eden among the big names to be playing the opening after they shared Hï-branded videos on facebook, confirming they will for 2017, Defected boss Simon Dunmore said, be playing at the ‘pristine’ new venue, and with Charlie Tat- ““Defected has held residencies in Ibiza for 15 man of the old Space team being one of the few remaining with the new owners also posting of ‘while others have just years, clearly the island is part of our DNA and hav- had a lick of paint’, we think ‘pristine’ may be a keyword too. ing focussed on Croatia in 2016 it was always our Mixmag said of the opening ”Black Coffee's tour dates show plenty of availability all throughout May, so it wouldn't be a plan to return to Ibiza this summer. Eden is a sleep- far guess to assume that he and Uner could be some of many headliners for the big debut”. ing giant with a rich Balearic heritage and San An- tonio has enormous potential as the gateway for
many first time clubbers visiting the island. Being right in the heart of a vibrant, informed and pas-
sionate crowd makes Eden as exciting a proposition as anywhere on this island. The line-ups will be
equally as adventurous, balancing established names and future talent. All the artists involved
share our vision, and we’re really excited about launching in May.”