The Assembly Hall of the Cabildo of Lanzarote hosted this Thursday the presentation of the draft Island Plan of Lanzarote and the Chinijo Archipelago (PIOT) to the primary sector of the island. The drafting team of Gesplan presented, before the numerous public attending, the main keys of this document, the result of an exhaustive update process and that includes the changes produced in the territory, the society and the legislative framework of strategic planning.
The event, which was attended by the president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort; the vice president, María Jesús Tovar and the councilor of Territorial Policy, Jesús Machín, among other councilors of the Government group, is part of the calendar of meetings that will be held with all sectors of the population to address the draft Island Plan.
The draft of the new PIOT, which replaces the Plan of the year 91, "is based on the balanced and sustainable development of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, collecting the needs of the population to improve their quality of life and social welfare, while protecting and conserving our natural resources and biodiversity".
Reinforces the commitment to the primary sector
The president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort, stressed that "this document responds to the need to update an obsolete planning and adapt it to the current and future challenges of the island, with a sustainable and respectful vision of our identity." Betancort added that "for the first time, the primary sector will have a real expansion of agricultural and livestock land, a fundamental step to strengthen the Lanzarote countryside and promote its development".
"The draft PIOT triples the area destined to the primary sector in Lanzarote with respect to the current plan, which represents a clear commitment to the development of agricultural, livestock and fishing activities, fundamental for our island," said the president.
In this sense, the Councilor of Territorial Policy, Jesús Machín, added that "this innovative document is committed to a model of sustainable and sustained development, and introduces measures aimed at the conservation and sustainability of the primary sector, such as the improvement of essential hydraulic infrastructures for irrigation and the planning of spaces destined to agricultural and livestock activity".
Machín detailed that "the new PIOT contemplates the land for the construction of a new EDAM Guatiza-Mala plant or the expansion of EDAM Janubio, among others, as well as the legalization and expansion of the Agricultural Farm, the Agroindustrial Complex or the island Slaughterhouse, in addition to ordering the coastline, contemplating the fishing shelters of La Santa and Famara, among other improvements." The draft PIOT also includes a detailed analysis of the economic activities linked to agriculture, livestock and mining operations for the extraction of aggregates.
Participatory document
For her part, the vice president of the Cabildo, María Jesús Tovar, recalled that "this draft is an open document for citizen participation, in which all contributions will be valued to ensure a transparent planning plan adapted to the real needs of our territory, thus guaranteeing the balance between economic development, environmental protection and social welfare".
The draft PIOT will continue its process with a public exhibition phase, in which citizens will be able to present their contributions and suggestions before its final approval. Until then, the Government group of the Cabildo of Lanzarote will continue to present the document to all sectors of the population and social and economic agents of the island.
