The president of the Popular Party of Lanzarote, Astrid Pérez, believes that the decision of the previous government of the Cabildo, presided over by the socialist Dolores Corujo, to initiate a file of Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) to several buildings on Calle Real, among which is the Hotel Oriental, will have as an effect the "gradual and irreversible deterioration of the little heritage that still remains standing" in Arrecife.
The leader of the PP "does not question the patrimonial value that these or other assets may have and the need to preserve them", but considers that “it does not necessarily have to be done under the umbrella of the BIC declaration, which "is more focused on other types of monuments such as Los Jameos del Agua or the Castillo de San José, among many others”.
“Resorting systematically to the maximum protection figure, which is not the only one, contemplated in the Canary Islands Heritage Law can lead not only to the vulgarization of the BICs but also to making it practically impossible for the owners of any of those properties to face the integral rehabilitation of the same”. In these cases, the BIC "is not a guarantee of patrimonial protection because in the end it depends on the will of the owner".
Pérez recalls that "the Popular Party already proposed at the time a pact for heritage, where heritage values cease to be an obstacle and become considered an added value, where the viability of commercial uses can be given with rehabilitation establishing a balance. An approach that the socialists discarded because theirs is more about putting a stop to everything remaining the same and the heritage not being restored".
“The reality is that Arrecife has a very deteriorated heritage, with streets like Hermanos Zerolo, which will be impossible to recover if a policy of consensus and agreements with the owners is not established”, explains Astrid, “regardless of the fact that the Heritage areas of the Cabildo and the Government of the Canary Islands should promote the implementation of rehabilitation programs for abandoned properties”.
"And it is there, in these two aspects, that she believes that institutions should start working without delay “if what is really wanted is to safeguard and protect our heritage values”, she concludes.
