The councilor of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Armando Santana, has expressed his firm opposition to the project proposed by the Insular Plan of Ordination of Lanzarote that intends to locate a large motor circuit in the area of the Argana dump.
According to Santana, this proposal contravenes the principles of sustainability and urban development that should govern the island, since this area was originally intended for the creation of a rainwater bioretention park.
“The area affected by this project has a crucial environmental value. Instead of a motor circuit, it should be used as a space for ecological regeneration, contributing to the efficient management of rainwater and improving the environmental quality of the area. Furthermore, we must think about the future of the inhabitants of Lanzarote, and a place like Argana deserves to be transformed into a sustainable city, where living is more comfortable, healthy and respectful of the environment”, says Santana.
The councilor also emphasizes that the development of a motor circuit in an area like Argana, would go against the urban planning that should prevail on the island, considering that the sustainability and quality of life of citizens should be the pillars of any large-scale project.
Rainwater retention park
For Santana it is "impressive" how the Cabildo can go overnight from an urban and territorial project "designed to take care of the environment such as the bioretention park, whose relevance, especially after what happened in Valencia, has become crucial".
And now, instead of betting on this sustainable solution, it is proposed to replace it with a motor circuit. “We cannot continue to consider that Lanzarote is a neutral platform in which the occurrences of the politician on duty can be imposed, simply because on paper everything seems possible”, he adds.
It was the same Cabildo of Lanzarote that "until not long ago", when thinking about Arrecife, "was able to address its problems from an environmental perspective, transforming the floods into an opportunity through the concept of "sponge city" and now "is determined to have a motor circuit in that same space".
"This approach that they now seem to forget, not only responds to the challenges of water, generating security and taking advantage of the rains to create a space that articulates and connects neighborhoods, integrating them with the coast. However, now the idea of installing a motor circuit is being considered, a proposal that goes against this vision of sustainability and responsible development".
