Photos: Sergio Betancort
The Cabildo of Lanzarote was aware of the works that Juan Francisco Rosa was carrying out in the old Hotel Finca Las Salinas at least since June 2015, when a security guard from the Heritage area of the institution reported that a "large hole" had been opened in the facade of this protected building. More than a year later, two other Inspection visits were carried out, in which they confirmed that this "large hole" had been closed "using stones and cement". In addition, these visits detected many other damages caused to the heritage values of the property, as stated in a report dated July 2016.
However, not even since then is it recorded that the institution adopted measures. And the facts were not transferred to Seprona either. In fact, the Civil Guard has confirmed to La Voz that this unit does not currently have any open investigation, as it does not know the file or the warnings made by the Cabildo technicians.
The Hotel Finca Las Salinas is an old 18th century mansion that was acquired by Juan Francisco Rosa almost four years ago, to convert it into the Stratvs Hotel. The property is included in the Municipal Architectural Inventory of Yaiza and only "conservation, restoration and consolidation" works are allowed. However, in addition to that large hole opened in one of the walls - later closed with "stones and cement" - the Heritage agents warned of other damages. Among them, that "a large part of the doors of the house" had been "torn off, considerably expanding the original holes in it".
Protected dependencies that have "completely disappeared"
In addition, they reported other actions carried out in the back of the property, where "a series of dependencies" protected within the Municipal Inventory "had completely disappeared". And they also warned that "other heritage elements had been destroyed, such as two sections of beveled walls that limited the perimeter of the front gardens, the large threshing floor that was on the side, the rear cistern and the demolition of the entire set of dependencies associated with the main house and where the stables were located".
At that time, the project for these works was requested from the Yaiza City Council, which had granted a license in 2014. This permit was granted after the businessman started the works without having any type of license, as confirmed by the City Council at that time, which ordered them to be stopped in May of that year.
Later, the City Council granted the license, but what it authorized was the rehabilitation of the property. However, Patrimonio detected - first in 2015 and then in 2016 - that what was being executed had nothing to do with that permit. Now, apparently, the property would be processing a new request, which has once again put this file on the table, which had not been made public and which is not recorded to have had consequences.
This is what could have motivated a new report issued two weeks ago from the Heritage Inspection, which warns that the works have caused "irreversible damage" to the heritage values of this protected property and proposes ordering the stoppage of the works.
