The Councilor for Historical Heritage, Ariagona González, has reported on the precautionary stoppage of the works that were being carried out in two protected buildings in Arrecife.
The first precautionary suspension ordered by the councilor, on the 20th, corresponds to demolition works on the building located at Calle Jacinto Borges, number 81, which were being carried out under the protection of a municipal license granted in May 2019.
The building in question is affected by the San Gines Neighborhood Complex, which is included in the Protection Catalog of Architectural and Monumental Heritage of the Island Plan of Lanzarote, a circumstance that was not taken into account in the technical and legal reports that allowed the granting of the demolition license by the Local Government Board of Arrecife.
According to the Cabildo, "the extreme seriousness of this omission is evident when considering that in February 2017 the Island Heritage Inspection sent a letter to the Arrecife City Council in which it communicated the presence of heritage values in a series of buildings, among which was the building whose demolition has been stopped".
González explains that "regardless of the inclusion of the affected house in the Island Catalog, the Inspection of the Heritage Service of the Cabildo addressed the Arrecife City Council in April 2021, informing them of a list of properties that should be included in the Municipal Catalog due to the existence of heritage values in them, including in said list the building now subject to stoppage".
The councilor assures that "the existence of these heritage values was reiterated to the Arrecife City Council in a new letter in February 2022." In this last letter, the Island Inspection warned the City Council that its Protection Catalog, approved in 2004, does not reflect the heritage reality of the municipality, since it only includes 19 properties. Given the silence of the City Council, this letter was reiterated a month later, in March 2022.
“Arrecife systematically ignores the reports sent by the Island Inspection, creating artificial conflicts that only harm the city and the promoters themselves, who see their works paralyzed for lacking the authorization of Heritage”, Ariagona González highlighted in view of the capital city council's insistence on granting licenses behind the back of the Island Institution.
The councilor explains again "that the protection of a property does not mean that different interventions cannot be carried out on it." “Protected buildings can be rehabilitated and even renovated and expanded under certain conditions, but always in coordination with the Heritage Service.”
The second stoppage
The second stoppage, dictated on April 22, refers to demolition works that were being carried out on a property on Avenida César Manrique (Charco de San Ginés), protected by a prior communication of the activity to the Arrecife City Council, a figure that cannot be used in the case of protected buildings.
As in the previous case, the affected building was protected by its inclusion in the San Ginés Neighborhood Complex, which is included in the Protection Catalog of Architectural and Monumental Heritage of the Island Plan of Lanzarote, for which to carry out such works, apart from having the municipal authorizations in accordance with current urban planning legislation, it must have express authorization from the Island Council.
