Avenida de Las Palmeras in Costa Teguise, the nerve center of this tourist town, still holds urban planning memories from its most voracious era. A few meters from where dozens of families live awaiting an eviction order from unfinished homes stands a concrete skeleton, that of plot 216, which resists the passage of time among tourist establishments that comply with the law.
The Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands ordered the halt of its construction in 2005. Currently, some fallen sheets reveal a half-built structure that has been part of Lanzarote's most controversial landscape for 20 years. Iron rods protruding from the structure and a contraption that rises up to four stories are reflections of an era of uncontrolled development.
Currently, the Government Group of Teguise, formed by the Canarian Coalition, the Popular Party, and the former Vox councilor, maintains the process to legalize what has already been built, increase the accommodation places, and allow the area to house a four-story hotel.
Inside, the graffiti reveals phrases like "you will be raped," showing that this type of unfinished work takes a greater toll on the safety of women. In this sense, the PSOE of Teguise has asked the municipal government to correct "urgently" the deterioration of the fencing.
The Technical Office studies transferring places and changing uses in two plots
In 2020, the developer asked the Teguise City Council to initiate the procedure to modify the General Plan and convert plot 216 into a hotel of up to four stories and with 500 accommodation places.
After decades of abandonment and without executing the sentence that ordered its demolition, in January 2022, the then mayor of Teguise Oswaldo Betancort (CC) signed a decree to initiate the modification file of the General Plan of Teguise and achieve the legalization of the skeleton.
In this sense, the current Councilor for Urban Planning of Teguise, Rita Hernández (PP), has stated in declarations to La Voz that two options are considered for this plot: "Either it is legalized or it is demolished" and that, for the moment, the municipal corporation is trying to achieve its legalization.
The councilor and head of the Technical Office of the Teguise City Council has confirmed that there is an open file to modify the General Plan of Costa Teguise and "change beds from one side to another" and another to fence or check the fencing.
Plot 216, owned by Grupo Hoteles Playa SA, has an extension of 35,346 square meters of tourist use in the extra-hotel mode and with the capacity to house restaurants and bars. According to urban planning regulations, up to 328 places and a maximum of two stories high can be developed on it. However, the property has requested to modify the urban planning regulations to increase its buildability and accommodation capacity.
In contrast, the PSOE of Teguise has indicated that this urban planning modification to accommodate a hotel is "a tailor-made suit" for the property.
For this, the developer proposed transferring places from another plot also owned by them, plot 232, located on Calle La Laguna, number 2, in Costa Teguise. This other land extends over 86,800 square meters and has the capacity to authorize 471 hotel places and up to four stories high. In this case, it is hotel tourist land.
In this way, if the property manages to partially modify the General Plan of Teguise, it would increase the buildability on plot 216, also increase the places by 67%, and could preserve a good part of the current construction, while changing the use of plot 232 to residential.
As for plot 232, it would become residential use, going from the 471 authorized places to the 299 assigned and reducing its buildability to 13,982 meters, instead of the 22,000 meters planned. In this way, it plans to build 77 homes on plot 232 with the capacity for three inhabitants per property.
Controversy with the fencing
At the same time, Rita Hernández has reported that the Local Police of Teguise has drawn up a report in the area and has passed the report to the Technical Office to formally demand that the property improve the fencing in the area. The PSOE of Teguise had criticized the Government group in the last plenary session for having requested the correction of the fencing to the property in a telephone conversation and not using the ordinary channels.
"It has not been done in writing, because we have direct contact with them. Both the technicians, as such, are called and told. The last time we spoke with them was two weeks ago," Rita Hernández assured this time during the municipal plenary session held last week.
