The Governing Council of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, held this Monday, has approved the start of the process to authorize the provisional tourist classification of the illegal Sandos Papagayo hotel (formerly Papagayo Arena) in Playa Blanca. According to La Voz, point four on the agenda discussed its registration as a "five-star hotel establishment" in the General Tourist Registry.
The controversial Papagayo Arena is one of the 22 hotels that had their licenses declared null in Lanzarote and one of the three that have not yet been able to legalize their situation. Specifically, its license was declared null by the Justice System in 2007 by the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands for committing serious urban planning infractions. Then, in 2016, it was declared criminal by the Provincial Court of Las Palmas, which sentenced the then mayor of Yaiza, José Francisco Reyes, to six years in prison and disqualification and decreed the seizure of all his assets.
This change of course by the Cabildo of Lanzarote, led by Coalición Canaria and the Partido Popular, goes against the position maintained by the Cabildo of Lanzarote in the previous legislature, when the island government led by Dolores Corujo (PSOE) asked the Justice System to seal off the establishment and tried to carry out its demolition. However, the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands rejected its demolition and urged the Yaiza City Council to continue with its "legalization".
In statements to the press, the Councilor for Territorial Policy of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Jesús Machín Tavío, defends that "whoever has the urban planning competence to decide whether or not the Papagayo Arena is legalizable is the Yaiza City Council only." Meanwhile, "the Cabildo only examines whether it complies with the tourism law and that is what it has done." Machín defends that the Court has warned them that "if we do not do it, we would incur in a prevarication by omission."
During all these years, the establishment has remained open to the public and lodging tourists despite not having any authorization to do so. In addition to this, it has a demolition order issued by the Yaiza City Council in March 2016, during the mayorship of Gladys Acuña.
The southern consistory itself concluded that this establishment, located in a privileged location next to the Natural Monument of Los Ajaches, was illegalizable. The tourist accommodation occupies the public access road to Las Coloradas beach and privatizes it "de facto", and also exceeds the permitted height.
The civic association El sol sale para todos filed a complaint last April with the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office against the Yaiza City Council and the Government of the Canary Islands for their inaction regarding the illegal hotel that has continued to operate for 17 years in the tourist town of Playa Blanca.
The new demarcation of Coasts
The General Directorate of Coast and Sea published on July 8 the definitive demarcation of Coasts in Playa Blanca. This document determined that the Protection zone for the partial plan of Las Coloradas must occupy a width of 100 meters, so most of the hotel establishment is within the new easement.
The promoter of Papagayo Arena requested the Directorate of Coast and Sea to annul the new demarcation proposed in the Partial Plan of Las Coloradas and defends that "there is absolutely nothing to protect" in the area and that "the scope of planning is already consolidated by the building in all its extension".
