The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment has authorized the City Council of Tías to build the diving station that it intends to create next to the Pila de la Barrilla or Playa Chica of Puerto del Carmen and that, according to the Consistory, will be a reality "in the summer of 2019."
The Consistory has reported that the General Directorate of Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea has already notified it of the administrative concession for the creation and opening of these facilities in one of the main areas for scuba diving. The government group is pleased with the "green light" that Costas has communicated so that these works can be put out to tender, which have an investment of close to 800,000 euros and whose financing "is guaranteed with funds from Municipal Cooperation and the Fdcan"
In the Ministry's resolution, which the Canary Islands Coastal Demarcation has had since May 10, the City Council is granted the "concession for the occupation of 966 square meters of public maritime-terrestrial domain for aquatic activities in Puerto del Carmen". The concession has a duration of 15 years, extendable for another period of equal duration, up to a maximum of 30 years.
Project details
The project foresees the creation of a building with a 470 m² terrace, an area to facilitate access and allow the loading and unloading of users of the facilities of 202 m², a garden area of 45 square meters, and an area for the continuation of the pedestrian promenade in the area closest to the breakwater, allowing direct access to the water for divers of 249 m².
From the Consistory it is recalled that the Diving Station project was prepared by the engineer of Roads, Canals and Ports, Ángel Pinedo Fernández, and the architect Ignacio González Alonso, and dates from 2016. "During all this time, the City Council of Tías has been processing this authorization with Costas, which was accepted in the plenary session of the City Council last March with a series of conditions to which the Government group of Tías expressed some clarifications related to the real surface of the center and the annual fee to be paid, which have now been accepted by the Ministry, and confirmed with the final administrative concession", they point out from the same.
The mayor of Tías, Pancho Hernández, and the deputy mayor and councilor for Tourism, Amado Jesús Vizcaíno, have highlighted that "from now on Puerto del Carmen will have this very necessary center demanded by the divers who travel to the island to dive in this area of the coast of Puerto del Carmen, where the so-called Cathedral is located, one of the great attractions for diving in Lanzarote, which is located on the sea front of Playa Chica or Pila de la Barrilla".
For the government group, "having this center in the La Tiñosa area will make it possible to improve public services and facilities in this enclave, which is frequented annually by more than 120,000 divers, according to data from Turismo de Lanzarote and disclosed by Turismo Lanzarote".
A six-month execution period
From the City Council it is specified that the tender for the works will be made from the Cabildo de Lanzarote thanks to the agreement signed between both institutions for the financing of this center charged to the funds of the Municipal Cooperation Plans (600,000 euros) and the Fdcan (200,000 euros). "The works, foreseeably, must be completed before the summer of next year 2019", they point out from the Consistory, from where they point out that according to the report that was sent to Costas, the time for material execution of this aquatic activities station will last about six months, "due to the architectural characteristics used for its design through modules where the toilets, changing rooms and cafeteria will be located, among other uses."
In this regard, the City Council explains that the central building will have an area of 194.54 square meters, which will be divided into three modules; one for changing rooms, another for a cafeteria and a third that will encompass the previous two in the form of an open box, as a lattice, and that will serve as common areas for access to the other two modules.
