The High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands has upheld Ibiza Town Hall's order to remove an automatic car wash and other installations from a property on Avenida Sant Josep de sa Talaia, after ruling that the installation was not covered by the licence granted in 1989.

The judgment, dated September 16, 2026, overturns an earlier ruling that had favoured the company operating the premises and confirms that the municipality can require the restoration of the site.

A dispute dating back to 2019

The case concerns premises at Avenida Sant Josep de sa Talaia, 11, in Ibiza, operated by ADNOTOR S.L., which trades as Taller Rotonda.

The dispute began with a municipal decree issued on June 10, 2019, ordering the restoration of the altered physical situation on the property. The order included the removal of the automatic car wash, doors, awnings and an advertising support structure.

ADNOTOR challenged the decision, eventually taking the case to the administrative courts.

The first court ruled in favour of the company

In April 2024, Administrative Court No. 1 of Palma ruled in favour of ADNOTOR.

That court considered that the municipality's power to take restoration action had expired. The reasoning included the fact that the car wash had reportedly been installed in 1989, while the restoration proceedings had not been opened until December 2018.

Under the urban-planning legislation applicable at the time, the ordinary period for exercising the restoration power was eight years. The first-instance court therefore considered the action time-barred and ordered the Town Hall to pay the costs.

The land was reserved for a future public road

The TSJIB reached a different conclusion on appeal.

A central issue was the planning status of the land. According to the judgment, the site had been designated in the 1987 planning framework as part of the alignment of a future public road, with provision for a 32-metre road and a six-metre green area.

The court held that urban-planning infringements affecting land designated for public roads, green areas or public facilities are not subject to the normal limitation period.

Importantly, the court said this applies even when the land has not yet formally become public property. The fact that the planned road had not been built, the reparcelling process had not been completed and the land remained privately owned did not prevent the planning designation from having this effect.

The 1989 licence did not cover the automatic car wash

The court also rejected the company's argument that the automatic car wash had been authorised by a licence granted in 1989.

The case record shows that the Town Hall initially refused a 1988 application covering a bodywork workshop and an automatic car wash.

A revised project was subsequently submitted. After the automatic washing system had been removed, the Town Hall granted a licence on August 1, 1989, for the workshop and manual vehicle washing.

However, a municipal police inspection on November 7, 1989, found that the automatic car wash had been installed again.

In 1994, the company requested a modification of the licence to include the automatic washing system. The court found that the absence of an express response could not create authorisation through administrative silence because this would conflict with the applicable planning rules.

What the court has ordered

The TSJIB upheld the municipality's restoration order, meaning the installations covered by that order must be removed.

The judgment reverses the 2024 first-instance decision and rejects ADNOTOR's administrative-law challenge.

The company was ordered to pay the costs of the first-instance proceedings. No costs were imposed for the appeal itself.

The judgment is not necessarily the final stage of the case. A cassation appeal can be lodged within 30 days, subject to the applicable requirements.

The business remains at the same address

Taller Rotonda's current website identifies the premises at Avenida Sant Josep de sa Talaia, 11, Ibiza, and lists both workshop and car-washing services.

The court ruling concerns the legality and removal of the specific installations covered by the municipal restoration order. It should not be interpreted as an order declaring the entire vehicle-repair business illegal.

A case about planning as well as licensing

The ruling is significant because the court's reasoning rests on two separate issues.

First, the automatic car wash was not covered by the licence granted in 1989. Second, the land's designation for a future public road meant that the municipality's power to restore the planning situation had not expired.

The case therefore illustrates how the planning classification of land can affect the time limits applicable to enforcement action, even decades after an installation was first put in place.