IBIZA’S ON THE ROCKS Purge puts party zone future in doubt
RESIDENTS say a purge on San Antonio is failing to curb crime.
Spanish authorities “declared war” on Ibiza’s top party resort in March by slapping clubs and businesses with restrictions on opening hours.
The new rules were meant to crack down on the seedy image of the West End, San Antonio’s party zone.
But residents say the restrictions have done nothing to cut crime and believe the future of the area is under threat.
Pickpockets and prostitutes work in tandem to steal from drunk and vulnerable Brits.
Horny youngsters are often robbed and assaulted by sex workers but are too embarrassed to report crimes to police.
Locals estimate that around 400 prostitutes, drug dealers, pickpockets and illegal laughing gas vendors operate in the area.
And police cannot cope with the vast number of crimes – often turning a blind eye.
Julian Cobby manages West End bar Soul City and is originally from Worthing, West Sussex.
He said: “There are only a limited number of policemen on the island and they never have enough.
“Cops can’t afford to live here because the rental prices are around £1,200 a month for a studio apartment in peak season. That’s more expensive than London.
“It’s the same with the hospitals. They don’t have enough staff because nurses can’t afford to live here.
“We have two young kids and we dread to think what would happen if we had to go to A&E on a Friday night.
“It’s full to the brim with youngsters who are either too drunk or too high, and not enough staff to deal with them.”
Mr Cobby believes the council are trying to wipe out the West End by punishing businesses, and so far it seems to be working.
“We have had to get rid of one doorman, two DJs and two bar staff already this year,” he says.
“All our staff had to take a pay cut.
“We thought we’d lose them all but they have stuck with us.”
James Aldridge, a San Antonio resident originally from the UK, added: “The council wish to destroy the town in the vain hope that something better will magically appear as a result of them closing all the businesses in the West End.”
In March, councillors voted to close outdoor terraces at 12am rather than the usual 2am and clubs at 3am rather than 5am. But Mr Cobby says the council will never get the solution they want. Meanwhile 200 Brits risk losing their jobs there. “Even if the clubs all shut they won’t get the highend tourists,” he added.
If the council was hoping to crack down on the island’s drug-taking culture they will have been sorely disappointed. West African drug dealers openly sell on San Antonio’s beach, metres from families. San Antonio town council said they hope to increase police numbers, adding: “It is not true that the police do not act against crime. Arrests are made every day. “Restrictions imposed are due to the noise pollution.”
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