Ibiza City Council has suspended the effectiveness of the urban planning licence authorising the reform and expansion of the Hotel Ibiza Corso, temporarily stopping the works linked to the project that includes the planned new Lío Ibiza venue.

The decision was adopted through Mayoral Resolution 2026-7368, dated September 17, and means that the works covered by Urban Planning Licence 11/2026 cannot be started or carried out while the suspension remains in force.

The decision comes after weeks of uncertainty surrounding the project and shortly before the municipal summer restrictions on heavy construction work were due to expire on October 1.

Licence Suspended, Not Cancelled

The distinction is important.

The City Council has not cancelled or definitively revoked the licence. It has suspended its effectiveness as a precautionary measure while the underlying administrative challenge remains unresolved.

The suspension means the licence cannot currently be used to authorise further works.

The project therefore remains legally unresolved rather than permanently stopped.

The 15% Occupancy Issue

The immediate reason given for the suspension is the project's compliance with the maximum permitted increase in occupation under the legal framework used to approve the hotel expansion.

Municipal technical services had previously concluded that the project exceeds the 15% limit established under Article 7.5 of Law 2/2020, the legislation through which the expansion was processed.

The City Council had already acknowledged this issue in a July technical report.

The latest resolution now uses that problem as the basis for suspending the effectiveness of the licence, stating that allowing the works to continue could make it more difficult to implement the eventual decision on the validity of the permit.

Municipality Requests More Precise Calculation

There is also an important detail in the latest resolution.

A municipal legal-services report dated September 16 concluded that the technical services should provide a further report specifying the extent of the alleged excess occupation.

The July report had identified the existence of an excess but did not specify the exact percentage or number of square metres involved.

The new technical assessment is therefore expected to establish precisely how far the project exceeds the permitted threshold.

Works Had Been Expected to Resume on October 1

The timing of the decision is significant.

A municipal summer construction order had prevented certain heavy works near the tourist waterfront during the summer months. October 1 was therefore expected to mark the point at which construction activity could resume.

Before the latest resolution, the City Council had been considering whether the works should be stopped because of the occupancy issue.

The new suspension means the works covered by Licence 11/2026 cannot legally resume while the measure remains in force.

Residents Had Been Challenging the Project

Residents in the s'Illa Plana area have been challenging the Corso project and its planning licence for months.

Their objections have included the legality of the planned recreational venue, the way the existing recreational use was treated in the licensing process and the project's compliance with urban planning limits.

Residents had also submitted a request for the suspension of the licence in August.

The latest municipal resolution is therefore the first formal decision by the City Council to suspend the effectiveness of the licence itself.

Residents and the City Council Disagree Over the Timing

The residents' position goes further.

They argue that their August request for suspension should have resulted in the licence being automatically suspended after the statutory period elapsed without an express decision.

The City Council's September 17 resolution instead relies on its own power to adopt a precautionary suspension under Article 117.2 of Law 39/2015.

The legal effect and timing of the suspension could therefore remain part of the wider dispute.

The Licence Is Not Yet Final

The urban planning licence also has not acquired final administrative status.

According to the latest reporting, one of two administrative appeals against the licence remains unresolved.

There are also two judicial proceedings challenging the project before the courts in Palma.

The suspension therefore takes place while several separate legal and administrative processes remain active.

Consell de Ibiza Review Also Continues

The case is not limited to the City Council.

The Consell de Ibiza is separately reviewing the tourism report that formed part of the process leading to the hotel expansion.

After receiving additional municipal documentation, the Consell opened a further period for submissions. That process has now reached the stage where a decision from the relevant tourism planning commission remains pending.

No final decision on that separate review has yet been announced.

The Future Lío Ibiza Project Remains Uncertain

The Corso project is intended to include a new large-scale entertainment venue associated with Lío Ibiza.

However, the latest suspension does not amount to a definitive cancellation of that project.

The planned venue cannot proceed under the suspended licence while the measure remains in force, but the ultimate future of the development will depend on the outstanding administrative and judicial proceedings and on how the occupancy issue is addressed.

What Happens Next

The immediate consequence is clear: works covered by Urban Planning Licence 11/2026 cannot be carried out while the suspension remains in effect.

The City Council must now deal with the technical issue concerning the project's occupancy calculation, while the wider challenges to the licence and the Consell's separate tourism review continue.

For now, the Hotel Ibiza Corso development has been temporarily halted, but the dispute over the project and the future Lío Ibiza venue is far from legally resolved.