Sant Antoni Town Council is finally planning to restrict the establishment of new gambling halls and social clubs for the consumption of toxic, narcotic or psychotropic substances (smoking dens) with the imposition of a series of conditions, according to the mayor, Marcos Serra.
To be precise, Serra insists that these activities “cannot be banned”, despite the fact that, following a proposal by the first deputy mayor, Joan Torres, of Proposta per Ibiza (PxE), the government team had reached a consensus on the matter.
The new draft proposal is that gambling halls should not be allowed within a set distance of municipal facilities (including educational infrastructures) and, in the case of smoking dens, they should not be located in buildings where there are other activities, including residential activities. In other words, new smoking dens may not be opened in premises located on the ground floor of residential buildings. This activity can only be carried out in isolated premises. “There are some already, but they are in the minority,” says Serra.
The mayor said that although “there are internal differences, as in any family, there is no reason to break the pact”
The mayor explained that the draft proposal is still being worked on, in the hope that it can be approved (as part of the specific amendment to the urban development plan that was rejected) at the next plenary session. Serra indicates that he has not yet spoken to the first deputy mayor about it, although he says that he knows that the proposal “is along these lines”. “I hope it will please everyone. This is the way to do it,” he reiterated, referring to the impossibility of banning these activities outright.
At the last plenary session, the unexpected withdrawal of the proposal that had been agreed to prevent the establishment of new gambling halls and smoking dens from the text of a specific amendment to the urban plan (to obtain more parking spaces and allow swimming pools on terraces) because, according to the mayor, the secretary and legal services warned that this activity could not be prohibited, caused another rift in the centre-right three-party coalition. Serra’s refusal to postpone the approval of the urban planning amendments while waiting for the legal framework for putting a stop to gambling halls and smoking dens meant that, in the plenary session, Torres voted against it and, with the support of the opposition parties, the amendment to the PGOU was not approved.
The mayor believes that the situation will be resolved and said that, although “there are occasional differences, as in any family”, he considers that “there is no reason to break the government pact”. He also claims to be “calmer” after the PSOE ruled out negotiating a motion of censure with PxE. “I am happy that they have changed course and say they will support the important things, which is what they did not do in the last plenary session,” says Serra, referring to the urban planning amendment that days before they had announced they would support.
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