Costas truncates urban plans in the Islote del Francés, setting the demarcation at 100 meters

The resolution orders to declare the “possession and ownership in favor of the State of the delimited assets”, on which only a concession may be requested for uses compatible with this type of land

October 9 2021 (13:21 WEST)
Image of the Islote del Francés of Arrecife

The General Directorate of Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea has approved the demarcation of the public maritime-terrestrial domain in the Islote del Francés, setting the easement zone at 100 meters. Thus, it truncates the urban development projects that had been proposed for years in this emblematic space of Arrecife.

The resolution, dated September 16, rejects the allegations presented by the property, through the companies Inversiones Islote del Francés, S.L., Club de Golf El Cortijo S.L., Hoya Pozuelo, S.L., Promobandama, S.A and Promotora Roque San Juan, S.L., which requested that the easement width be set at only 20 meters, alleging that the land had a “urban character” recognized prior to the 1988 Law.

However, the Directorate of Coasts responds that the General Plan of 1969 classified it as “urban reserve land, equivalent to developable land”, but not as urban land. Regarding the sentence to which the promoters clung, which indicated that the land met “the necessary characteristics for its inclusion in the Plan as urban”, it concludes that the fact that “they had the consideration of urban in 1991 cannot mean that this consideration can be extrapolated to the situation of said land in 1988”, when the Coasts Law came into force. 

This demarcation file was initiated in 2019 and since that date the precautionary suspension of the granting of building permits in the Islote del Francés was ordered. Now, the resolution indicates that the “possession and ownership in favor of the State of the delimited assets” must be declared. 

In addition, it orders the Demarcation of Coasts in the Canary Islands to “initiate actions leading to rectify the contradictory legal registration situations with the approved demarcation”. Regarding the existence of “possible rights of individuals that have been affected by this demarcation”, it indicates that the Law provides for its “transformation into rights of use”, for which they should request a concession, provided that they are pre-existing activities or others that may be compatible with an easement zone, which rules out the construction of houses or hotels.

The other option would be to appeal this demarcation and continue in the courts this battle that has lasted for decades.

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