The Arrecife City Council has ordered “the immediate suspension of works, installations and/or activity” in the immigrant camp that has been set up next to the National Police Station, considering that “urban planning legality” has been violated. However, the municipal report clarifies that a period of 10 days must be given to the responsible administrations to present allegations, before this precautionary measure comes into effect.
This technical report, dated last Monday, identifies the General Directorate of the Police, dependent on the Ministry of the Interior, as the promoter of the works, and concludes that it has breached the Canary Islands Land Law, because it was obliged to request a license from the City Council and did not do so.
The report was requested by the Department of Infractions after receiving a complaint from Civil Protection, which considered that the facilities entailed “a risk”. Now, as a result of this opinion, the councilor Elisabet Merino has agreed to initiate a procedure to restore legality, also adopting provisional measures until the installation is “legalized”. In addition, she also warns of possible sanctions, which will be addressed “in another separate procedure.”
Must apply for a license and provide the necessary documents
Regarding legalization, it indicates that it will be possible if the promoter presents a “license application for the implementation of an installation for social equipment use.” In this regard, the report warns that this application “must be accompanied by documents that indicatively prove ownership, by the applicant, of the legal powers necessary to carry out, on land, air or subsoil, the actions or uses object of the request.”
“In the event that it corresponds to a third party, they must prove the authorization or mandate or authorization from the former to exercise the corresponding power,” it specifies.
In this case, the report recalls that the plot is owned by the Port Authority, and points out that the municipal file contains “the agreement to initiate the free transfer made by the Port Authority of Las Palmas to the General State Administration of the plot for its use by the Ministry of the Interior for the expansion of the police station.” However, this transfer file - which was also not initiated for the installation of the tents, but for the expansion of the building - has not yet been concluded.
The technician points out in her report that “there is also a letter from the General Directorate of the Police stating the urgent nature of the purchase of the campaign booths,” but not a resolution declaring this urgency by the competent administration.
Finally, a “prior communication” was also made to the City Council by the company to which this work was awarded, Equipos Móviles de Campaña ARPA SA, on behalf of the General Directorate of the Police, notifying that they were going to carry out “land cleaning and gravel contribution” work. However, what is not recorded is a “license application for the implementation of the installation,” which is what has led the City Council to adopt measures.
The report itself transferred several proposals for provisional measures “in order to guarantee the effectiveness of the resolution that must put an end to the procedure for restoring urban planning legality and to safeguard, during the processing of said procedure, the public interests and those of third parties affected by the illegal action”. These measures will involve the temporary suspension of all activity in this Temporary Care Center for Foreigners, unless the Ministry or the National Police manage to make their allegations prosper.
