The president of the Ibiza Council, Vicent Marí, is calling for the construction of affordable housing for residents to be prioritised over private housing. ‘The Council, the local councils and the Government must be imaginative and make this priority possible, relegating private housing until we have sufficient water resources,’ said the Ibizan president yesterday.
Vicent Marí was the guest on the first programme of the new season of Bona nit Pitiüses on Televisió d'Eivissa i Formentera (TEF), hosted by Joan Carles Rodríguez Tur.
Marí recalled that Ibiza suffers from a serious housing shortage, as the population has grown significantly in recent years due to the island being a land of opportunity.
In this regard, the president of the Ibiza Council is committed to prioritising the construction of new housing. 'We have to consider what type of housing needs to be built in Ibiza. I am in favour of building homes for long-term residents who cannot afford to buy a property.'
Vicent Marí explained that this is «an important debate that needs to be had. We cannot allow the population to grow when there is a lack of housing and resources for residents.»
The Ibiza Council president insisted that, given the lack of water infrastructure, ‘there needs to be a pause, a slowdown in housing for people who do not live here.’
Regarding this issue, Vicent Marí pointed out that the price of private housing in Ibiza has skyrocketed and is now beyond the means of Ibizans.
"We must be imaginative and innovative, and implement policies that prioritise housing for Ibiza residents who have not yet been able to become independent. We must give them hope by implementing sensible and innovative policies so that Ibizans do not have to leave their island,' he added.
The president of the Ibiza Council also commented on the drought situation affecting the island. ‘It is an issue that concerns us all: farmers, institutions, society in general, and various types of action must be taken. And they are being taken.’ Vicent Marí, on the one hand, referred to awareness campaigns ‘so that people know that water is a scarce resource and should not be wasted.’ On the other hand, Marí advocated ‘increasing the production of desalinated water: the fourth desalination plant must be put into operation, the Santa Eulària desalination plant must be expanded, and mobile desalination plants must be put into operation. All of this must be done without fail in order to avoid damaging the aquifers, in addition to more water reuse policies.’
The Ibizan president also praised the role of the Balearic Government, ‘which has set to work seriously. We had eight years of a government without planning. There has to be a roadmap and constant work to reverse this situation. We will do everything we can.’
Marí also recalled that in recent years more than 20 million euros has been invested to prevent leaks in the water supply network, that marine intrusion must be prevented by ‘waterproofing many kilometres of the network and investing in new desalination plants’. These investments cannot be made overnight, so in the meantime, ‘we must focus on saving measures and repairing the day-to-day infrastructure.’
Vicent Marí also recalled that last winter a pilot test was carried out to infiltrate desalinated water into an aquifer in Santa Eulària. ‘It worked, and now the aim is to do the same in other parts of the island to recharge the aquifers.’
Vehicle restrictions
The president of the Consell d'Eivissa took the opportunity to boast about the implementation of vehicle restrictions this summer. ‘It has been a law that is yielding very good results, which was born out of a 90% consensus in Parliament. We are seeing a reduction in the number of vehicles arriving,’ said Vicent Marí.
In this regard, he recalled that car rental companies had requested permission for 27,000 vehicles, while 16,000 were ultimately authorised. Likewise, caravans and motorhomes are no longer allowed to enter the island without a reservation at one of the island's five campsites. ‘There have not been as many caravans on the beaches this summer, there has been a significant reduction,’ said the Ibizan president.
As for the quota of 4,168 vehicles for tourists, Vicent Marí pointed out that it was completely filled between 25 July and 28 August.