The decree law on urgent measures in urban planning matters in the Balearic Islands which was approved last Tuesday directly declassifies unconsolidated urban land, the so called ‘false urban’ by Sant Josep and Sant Antoni. In addition, the regulation specifies that this change in classification of the land (it becomes rural common land) “does not imply compensation”

The previous decree (9/2020) of May 2020, also of urgent measures for the protection of the territory, gave the Consell de Ibiza the deadline of December 31st of last year to decide, through the corresponding land-use planning instrument (a modification of the Insular Territorial Plan), whether such lands were to be maintained as urban, urbanizable or directly declassified.

It did not do so, and in fact, in haste, the Sant Antoni City Council held an emergency plenary session on December 30th 2022, one day before the deadline, to approve an amendment to its Plan General de Ordenación Urbana (PGOU) to maintain the unconsolidated urban lands of sa Talaia Norte, Bosc d’en Frit y Bay of Sant Antoni.

When the deadline arrived without a resolution to the issue, as stipulated by the decree 9/2020, the Balearic Govern subrogated the authority to decide the future of these ‘false urban’ areas. It had one year to do so, until Saturday, December 31st. But in this case, the Govern has resolved it and has done so through the decree 10/2022 of urgent measures in urban planning approved last Tuesday. In its article 2 it is determined, as explained by the general director of Territory and Landscape of the Govern, Magdalena Pons that “the false urban [of Sant Josep and Sant Antoni] are declassified”.