The Cabildo of Lanzarote has decided to intervene directly in the controversial case of the old Hotel Oriental building, after the Arrecife City Council ordered its eviction, based on technical reports that declare the building's "ruinous" state. A decision that angered the owners of the businesses established on the ground floor of this building on Calle Real, who blame the owner for having sought this situation, leaving the upper floor abandoned.
Now, and after the merchants opposed the eviction and appealed this decision, the Department of Historical Heritage has ordered the sealing, but only of the upper floor. Specifically, it has been resolved to suspend as a precautionary measure "any type of work, activities, emission or discharge that could pose a risk to the conservation and protection of the building at Calle León y Castillo 37". In this way, and according to Councilor Carlos Espino, "the so-called Hotel Oriental will maintain its commercial activity on the ground floor, which has been carried out for years without posing any risk to the preservation of the building".
Espino has also warned that only the Cabildo, as the body responsible for the Island's Historical Heritage, has the power to authorize the demolition of a listed building, always with favorable reports from the Historical Heritage Council of the Canary Islands. Thus, if a City Council receives a request to demolish a building included in the municipal catalog, it must inform the Cabildo before taking any action.
For the moment, last October 10, the Cabildo already requested a copy of the key from the building's owner, so that Heritage personnel can inspect the state of conservation of the upper floor. "The decision to seal the upper floor of the Hotel Oriental has been taken to prevent the physical reality of the building from being altered. We cannot allow citizens to doubt the Cabildo's firmness in this matter, or attribute negligence to it in the protection of a building of high historical and heritage value," Espino said.
In this regard, it should be remembered that this is not the first time that a situation of this nature has occurred, since another building on Calle Real owned by the same owner had to be demolished some time ago, after being declared in a state of ruin. Something that in this case, both the City Council and the Cabildo affirm that they will try to avoid, looking for alternatives to save the structure of the building.
