A property owner in Cala Vadella says he has spent €57,000 preparing a project for a house that he has still been unable to build, around 14 years after purchasing the plot. José María Ugal Cuenca says he bought the land with the intention of building a home, but has not obtained the municipal building licence he needs to begin construction.

His case is part of a wider urban-planning dispute affecting planning unit AA 4.3 in the municipality of Sant Josep de sa Talaia, where some property owners say they have been unable to obtain licences for new homes for years.

Ugal Cuenca says the €57,000 covered the project for his house. He has also paid for other technical work, fees and taxes, including costs associated with a detailed planning study for the wider development. He has not calculated the full amount spent.

The dispute has intensified following Sant Josep Town Hall's decision in October to reject an application for the definitive reception of the urbanisation. The decision has also preceded a complaint submitted to the Ibiza Public Prosecutor's Office against the mayor and other municipal officials, alleging possible administrative irregularities.

A Plot Purchased Around 14 Years Ago

Ugal Cuenca says he bought his plot in Cala Vadella approximately 13 or 14 years ago, hoping to build a property that he could use as a home, sell or rent.

He told La Voz de Ibiza that he commissioned the architectural project from Javier Gea and Carlos Rojas and paid €57,000 for the work.

He also says he contributed towards a detailed planning study covering the wider urbanisation, which involved further expenditure.

Despite these investments, he says he has not received the building licence required to construct his house.

“We have taken all the steps they have asked us to take, but they have never given us a licence,” he told the newspaper, expressing frustration at the lack of progress and what he considers an absence of meaningful communication.

The owner, who lives in Barcelona, says the years of waiting have changed his original plans. He now hopes to build a property where he and his wife could eventually live, although he admits he is increasingly uncertain about when that will be possible.

Questions Over the Difference Between Built and Unbuilt Plots

One of Ugal Cuenca's main frustrations is that neighbouring plots already have houses.

He questions why properties on either side of his land and across the road have been developed, while he has been unable to obtain permission to build.

The issue reflects a wider complaint from owners in planning unit AA 4.3, who say that some properties were built under licences granted in previous decades, while other plots have remained undeveloped because of the urban-planning requirements applied in more recent years.

According to documentation presented by the owners, building licences were granted in the area between 1973 and 2007. They maintain that new construction has been blocked on the remaining plots since 2007.

The owners estimate that approximately 80% of the plots are already built on. This figure is their estimate and has not been independently established through a published cadastral assessment.

Ugal Cuenca says the contrast between developed neighbouring properties and his own vacant plot has become increasingly difficult to understand after so many years.

The €57,000 Is Not the Full Cost

The €57,000 cited by Ugal Cuenca relates to the project for his proposed house. He says his total expenditure is considerably higher once other technical work, administrative fees and taxes are included.

He has not calculated the full amount and told La Voz de Ibiza that he would rather not think about the accumulated cost.

He also questions why he was able to pay for project-related procedures and submit documentation without ultimately obtaining the permission needed to build.

His comments reflect his personal experience of the administrative process. The available reporting does not provide a complete breakdown of the payments, the dates of the applications or the formal decisions taken on each individual submission.

Meeting With the Mayor of Sant Josep

Ugal Cuenca says he has met Sant Josep Mayor Vicent Roig to discuss the difficulties affecting his plot and other owners in Cala Vadella.

According to his account, the mayor suggested preparing a basic project to establish the current situation of the wider urbanisation.

However, Ugal Cuenca says his architect considered that this work could not reasonably be undertaken by one individual owner because it concerned the entire planning area.

He argues that the outstanding infrastructure and planning issues require a coordinated solution rather than leaving individual property owners to organise work affecting the whole development.

The owners have previously called on the municipality to take responsibility for coordinating the completion of the outstanding urbanisation works and determining how the costs should be distributed among the relevant property owners.

Town Hall Rejected the Urbanisation's Definitive Reception

The dispute reached another significant point on 16 October 2026, when Sant Josep's Local Government Board unanimously rejected an application for the definitive reception of the urbanisation in planning unit AA 4.3.

The application had been submitted on 15 July 2025 by technical architect Javier Gea Martínez, acting on his own behalf and representing José María Ugal Cuenca and another property owner, Óscar Crespo Sánchez.

The municipal decision relied on technical and legal reports identifying outstanding infrastructure, planning and documentation requirements.

Among the issues described in the reports were deficiencies in sections of the road network, missing pavements and public lighting in certain areas, and problems with the wastewater sanitation network.

The reports also said that the available documentation was insufficient to verify that certain water-supply and electricity installations met the required technical standards. This does not necessarily mean those services are absent, but that the municipality considered their compliance insufficiently demonstrated.

The municipal assessment also identified missing approved planning and management instruments required to establish that the urbanisation process had been completed.

It is important to distinguish this decision from an individual building-licence refusal. The October resolution concerned the formal reception of the wider urbanisation. It was not, in itself, a ruling on Ugal Cuenca's individual application to build a house.

Complaint Submitted to the Ibiza Public Prosecutor

Ugal Cuenca is one of the property owners represented by Javier Gea in a complaint submitted to the Ibiza Public Prosecutor's Office against Mayor Vicent Roig and other municipal officials.

The complaint alleges possible administrative prevarication and other irregularities in the handling of the Cala Vadella planning unit.

The complainants argue that the municipality has failed to promote the works and administrative measures they consider necessary to resolve the situation, leaving some owners unable to build for years.

These are allegations made by the complainants. They do not establish that the mayor or any other municipal official has committed a criminal offence, and no finding of criminal liability is reported.

The Town Hall, meanwhile, has justified its refusal to receive the urbanisation by referring to the infrastructure deficiencies and missing documentation identified by its technical and legal services.

Considering a Mobile Home Instead of Building

After years of waiting, Ugal Cuenca says he is considering an alternative way to make use of the land.

He told La Voz de Ibiza that he is thinking about fencing the plot, installing a sliding gate and placing a mobile home or caravan there.

“I am going to put in a sliding gate and set up a mobile home there so I can enjoy my land,” he said, adding that he was prepared to face the consequences if the authorities objected.

This remains an intention expressed by the owner. It does not establish that he has installed a mobile home or that such a use would be authorised under the applicable planning rules.

Despite his frustration, he says he has not entirely abandoned the hope of building a permanent home on the property.

For now, his case illustrates the personal consequences of the unresolved planning dispute in Cala Vadella, where property owners and Sant Josep Town Hall continue to disagree over the outstanding works, the legal requirements for completing the urbanisation and who should take responsibility for moving the process forward.