The controversy starring Argana Centro continues when more than a year has passed since the facilities opened their doors. The Contentious-Administrative Court No. 4 of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has admitted a claim against the agreements of the Arrecife City Council that allowed the center to start operating as a commercial area.
On January 12, a member of the Canarian Coalition presented a document to the court in which these agreements, from the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008, were criticized. These are the municipal decisions that gave the green light to Argana Centro and under which it has been operating since its definitive opening.
Firstly, the claim points to the agreement that the local government board of Arrecife made on November 30, 2007, through which the modified project of the building's works was approved. If previously the City Council had given a license for a warehouse, it was then decided to allow the building to have a floor, a semi-basement and a basement, when it was already practically built. That same day, another agreement was made, which is also affected by the claim now presented, authorizing the company Tiendas Especializadas de Canarias to dedicate itself to the activity of "Minor trade of household items, hardware, equipment items, home and parking".
Already at that time, the Canarian Coalition warned that the modifications did not correspond to the original project and communicated this to the technicians, the secretary and the councilors who were part of the government board. If the initial license was granted for the construction of a warehouse, it was not explained why permission for commercial activity and for the inclusion of a parking lot was requested at that point.
From CC they recalled that the land on which Argana Centro is located belongs to the so-called Homogeneous Zone 9, in which the Hiperdino of Valterra is also framed, which was vetoed for being located in an industrial and not commercial space.
Other questioned agreements
These would not be the only decisions taken by the City Council at the time when the shopping center was planning to open its doors and that will now be reviewed. On January 9, another agreement was reached to grant the occupancy license to the building and the parking lots. This completed a pending procedure that made the businessman Eduardo Spínola had to close the doors of the center in the middle of the Christmas campaign, as he lacked the relevant license.
With these arguments, and with the corresponding documentation, Argana Centro has arrived at the Contentious-Administrative Court No. 4 of Las Palmas. Its owner, María del Carmen Monte Blanco, has admitted the claim and has already requested the administrative file from the Arrecife City Council to proceed with its analysis.
Ubaldo Becerra, councilor responsible for the General Urban Planning Plan, explained to La Voz de Lanzarote that the technical office of the City Council submitted the documentation requested by the court two weeks ago. "For our part, absolute collaboration. I suppose they need information because in order to pronounce themselves they must have all the data", assured the councilor. Thus, the notification arrived on February 5 and, Becerra assures, in a few days the file relating to Argana Centro was provided to the Contentious-Administrative Court No. 4 of Las Palmas.
The opening
Argana Centro opened its doors on December 14, 2007. Five days later it received a closure decree signed by who, at that time, was the head of Urban Planning of the capital City Council, Antonio Hernández. Having obtained the first occupancy license, thanks to the aforementioned agreement of January 9, 2008, it resumed its activity. The Canarian Coalition, on the one hand, and the Interinsular Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises (Felapyme), led the opposition to Argana Centro for considering it illegal.
