Following the news published by La Voz de Lanzarote, where the fall of crystals and the video of the moment in which a piece of the wall collapsed was shown in the Church of Guatiza, from the Cabildo of Lanzarote they have shown their surprise. “We found out through the published news”, assures the Councilor for Heritage, Ariagona González. Now, she has announced that they will send the Inspection service to “assess the situation of the property”, since she claims that they were unaware of it. “We will try to prepare a report on the situation of the church, to send it to the owner, which in this case is the Diocese of the Canary Islands”, she emphasizes.
For his part, the parish priest of Guatiza assures that he has been warning for years about the state of the church and asking for collaboration from public administrations, especially in recent months, after several incidents have been recorded. According to him, he sent up to two letters to the Teguise City Council and his assistant contacted the Heritage Department of the Cabildo, but the councilor of the area maintains that there is no request in the entity's registry and that she has consulted the area staff but "no one knew anything".
Who was aware of the situation was the Teguise City Council, which received the request for help from the priest of Guatiza in December 2020 and January 2021. However, neither the Councilor for Works, Eugenio Robayna, nor the Councilor for Heritage of the City Council, Sara Bermúdez, were aware of the issue, according to statements to La Voz. From the press office of the Consistory, however, they have finally confirmed the presence of both requests in the registry, although so far they have not clarified whether they were answered or any type of procedure was initiated - such as a possible communication to Heritage of the situation - , pointing out that they are collecting the information.
The Cabildo emphasizes that the property must present a project
Regarding the Councilor for Heritage of the Cabildo, she recalls that the owners of heritage assets “are responsible for their conservation”, as well as those in charge of preparing a technical report on the situation of the property, in order to carry out the relevant restorations. “Even a few months ago, the Cabildo's inspection service met with the Diocese of the Canary Islands, to have a fluid communication with them and inform them of the Heritage Assets of Lanzarote that require some type of remodeling”, comments the councilor.
In this regard, the priest pointed out that the parish does not have the resources to prepare that project, for which they were asked for 7,000 euros, and that is why he considered that public administrations should collaborate, as it is a protected heritage asset. However, the councilor insists that it is necessary and that the obligation to present it lies with the owner, which in this case is the Diocese of the Canary Islands. “Without that project, we as a public institution cannot send or report on it, and therefore, we cannot do anything to support the restoration of the property,” she defends.
“The Cabildo will take care of its work, which is none other than to prepare a report and demand that the owner take care of the restoration, according to the Cultural Heritage Law of the Canary Islands,” warns the councilor.