The Ibiza Sun, Thursday 10th April 2014, Issue 729
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Ibiza News of this place before my 21st birthday and that would really be a dream." It is understood McCollum Connolly, also 20, has not yet started the transfer process. Great Results for Farm Co-op. Saying that farmers are always suffering a crisis, Juan Antonio Prats (manager of the San Antonio Farmers Cooperative) was pleased to announce to the 2000 members that this year the Coop had made 38,000€ profit. Even after investing in new machinery such as a tractor costing 45,000€, the production and processing of 900 tons of carob seeds and 82 tons of almonds had helped create this buoyant economic result. It is quite a turnaround for the Coop after suffering a 13,000€ loss in 2011. Lighthouses In Demand. Whilst the argument goes on in the media and the bars around the islands as to if the Matutes Company should be allowed to change the use of the lighthouse on Rabbit Island into a luxury rural hotel, it was announced by the Port Authorities that there have been over a dozen projects presented to them to change the use of the lighthouses found on Ibiza and Formentera. The most popular light house appears to be the one at “La Mola” in Formentera as there are six projects presented to turn this installation into a hotel, or a cafe, or a restaurant or a combination of all three. Most applications fall into these general areas. After opposition in the media
from environmentalist groups regarding the Rabbit Island proposal, the President of the Ibiza Consell seemed to reject the Matutes Company request to seek a referendum from the local population to see if we agree with their hotel plans. Health Centre Opened. With the President of the Balearic Government, José Ramón Bauzá and Health Minister, Martí Sansaloni, in attendance
the new health centre in San Josep was officially opened last week. The health centre is in the centre of the village and will greatly improve the health provision for what is the biggest borough in geographical terms on the island. Though most potential users were delighted to have a new health centre on the door step, it appears that there were a few complaints. Some patients from the Cala de Bou area have been re-assigned a doctor at this new centre in San Josep making it a longer, more time consuming trip to receive treatment rather than use the existing Cala de Bou centre or San Antonio. School Foundation Stone Laid. Mayor of Santa Eulalia, Vicent Marí, officially laid the foundation stone in the North East corner for the new secondary school in the town. The building work
Peaches Geldof The family of Peaches Geldof may have to wait several weeks to discover exactly why she died, it emerged today. A post mortem on her body was carried out this morning but further tests to establish the cause of death are expected to take place and the results may not be known for days, or weeks. The body of the 25year-old mother-of-two was found at her home in Wrotham, Kent, on Monday and police have said her death is not considered suspicious but was unexplained. We understand Police were called to the scene by a relative “concerned for her welfare”. In her Mother & Baby magazine column this week Peaches said she “had the perfect life” and that “being a mum is the best part.” Peaches had two young sons with her second husband, musician Tom Cohen.
In 2006 Peaches dad Sir Bob Geldof reportedly banned her from DJing at Ibiza Rocks. The Daily Star reported Bob as saying he had “drawn the line at Ibiza as I can’t keep an eye on her out of the country and she could end up around people like Doherty”.
of this much needed educational facility will take 11 months. The cost will be around 5 million € which the Town Hall has lent to the Balearic Government's Educational authorities. In this way the project can take place during this time of spending cuts. The Town Hall loan will be paid back by the Balearic Government over a 10 year period. Sant Joan Improvements. Work has started this week on patching up the pot holes that have developed in many of the roads throughout the Sant Joan area of the island. Though this announcement went some way in satisfying the socialist opposition on the Town Council, they did complain publicly about the delays in starting the much needed reform of the access road to the popular tourist area of Portinax. Since the initial design of the new road was changed and the cycle track dropped from the plan, there has been a delay allocating the contract because the technicians are taking more time than expected to study the 23 tenders for the 16 million € project. Spring in the Air The airport is receiving 46 more flights a week now it's Spring. Twelve of the extra flights are national connections but the rest are international. For our readers information, at the moment some of the direct flights available are to Málaga, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Minorca, Alicante, A Coruña, Seville, Amsterdam, Bergamo, Brussels, Berlin, Berne, Bologna, Ginebra and London (London City, Luton & Stansted). It was also reported that Ryanair will be operating flights to thirty destinations from Ibiza this summer. Public Opinion Wanted. By accessing the Town Hall web page or by San Antonio Town Hall wants the residents of the town to give ideas and opinions about how to redevelop tourist areas in the town. The areas of the town to be focussed on are the centre around the fountain promenade, the sea front from Arenal beach to Es Pouet beach and the coastline between Cala Gracio and Cala des Moro beaches. e-mail ajuntament@santantoni.net, or Âwwwsantantoni.net
Call To Ban Boat Parties The GEN ecological lobby claim the authorities have taken no steps over the close season to control or legislate the activities of Party Boats. They want all such activity to be stopped until such legislation is introduced. In the eyes of the GEN, Party Boats are discos at sea and represent a threat to endangered marine species and protected natural reserves. They also list noise pollution, waste, and disturbing the quiet enjoyment of beaches among their complaints. GEN also feel the party boats give Ibiza a bad image. The active ecological Unemployment Rises Again. March saw yet another rise in unemployment rates on the islands of Ibiza and Formentera reaching a total of 11.094, 533. Over 9,000 of these are looking for work in the service sector (hotels, bars, restaurants, etc.) which helps explain the rise in unemployment. Basically, the rise is explained by experts because people from the mainland and other parts of Europe are arriving on the island to look for work this summer and are registering as unemployed here. Mercadona Work Stopped. Seemingly Mercadona only have a license to carry out earth movements on the site where the car park for the new supermarket is being built in Puig Den Valls. This meant that construction on the site was stopped this week by the Town Hall in San Antonio when inspectors found foundations were being put in. It appears that there is a lot of pressure on the Town Hall to check that the licenses given to Mercadona are respected. This pressure comes from small business associations on the island because they fear this type of superstore will negatively affect their trading. Once finished, the eventual supermarket will have 1900m2 of shopping space with parking for 200 cars. Supposedly, there is a grey area in construction licensing. Mercadona needed the foundations to install an electricity supply point in the car park. Apparently, certain planners at the Town Hall and Mercadona be-
lobbyists claim the suggestion by the authorities to let the Party Boats self regulate will not work. Responding to the claims Alex Ryan, businessman behind the successful Driftwood Trance boat parties, said “We encourage responsible behaviour at our parties. We work within strict limits and are respectful of others at all times. People come on holidays to have fun, listen to good quality music and enjoy the sunshine. We provide a professional service that caters for those demands.” lieved that the license they had for the car park covered the electricity supply point as well. For the moment the work is stopped and the Town Hall is waiting for an application for another license for the electricity supply point construction. Actual final planning permission for the construction of the store building seemingly depends on new planning laws and land usage reclassifications for the whole borough being approved shortly. Apart from planning problems, Mercadona has had more problems at the supermarket site because archaeological remains were found and had to be removed for conservation. Formentera Phone The fixed telephone line between the islands was cut several times by anchors from yachts last summer creating major communication problems. Coming ashore at the fashionable Cala Jondal beach in Ibiza and Cala Saona in Formentera, how the cable is to be protected is causing discussion. Both Cala Jondal beach and Cala Saona are popular with nautical tourism and the telephone company’s idea of creating a 300m wide by 1200m long restricted anchoring area in the coastal waters at these beaches is not being received too well. Before agreeing to such a drastic measure, the local authorities are requesting that more studies are carried out by the telephone company to see if an alternative form of protection for the cable can be considered.