«Anyone who thinks they can come to Ibiza to spend the night on the street, in a car park or in their vehicle has to understand that this is not allowed»

The Town Hall also emphasised the importance of the works, which will begin next week and provide the city with a much-needed low-demand centre for vulnerable people.

Over the last few years, the public car park at es Gorg has become a caravan settlement where hundreds of people live, including families with children and newborns. The difficulty of finding housing is the common denominator of this community, which brings together very diverse profiles in terms of nationalities, trades and seasonality. Some reside there only during the tourist season, while other caravans are inhabited all year round.

The council's announcement came as a bit of a shock to many of the residents of Es Gorg. On Tuesday morning, it was all the neighbours in the settlement could talk about. Victoria could not hold back her tears as Alicia read the municipal notice to her. Ruth, for her part, decided to move to es Gorg with her husband and two daughters after being unable to afford the abusive rental conditions: «We found a flat, but the owner was asking for 12,000 euros in advance. We offered her 5,000, all we had, but she refused. So we decided to come with the caravan».

For their part, the social services, they explain, monitor these settlements and attend to vulnerable people «who need it, but this is not the case in the majority of these cases». They also point out that there is a municipal regulation that prohibits overnight stays and camping in vehicles, as well as an island law that ‘limits the number of vehicles and caravans and requires a reservation in a legally authorised campsite». «Nor can we urge them to set up in another car park in an irregular manner,’ stresses the council, which emphasises that parking restrictions must be complied with ‘as happens in many other works». Finally, they stress that the start of work on the low-demand centre in es Gorg «is excellent news for the city and for the island after many years of blockage and paralysis», and will provide specific facilities to attend to vulnerable people. «Anyone who thinks they can come to Ibiza to spend the night on the street, in a car park or in their vehicle, must understand that this is not allowed», the Ibiza Town Hall concluded.