The Plenary of the Teguise Town Hall approves the urban planning agreement with the developer Algol

The extraordinary Plenary held in Teguise began half an hour late this Tuesday. Of the four points on the agenda, the most controversial was the one relating to the agreement between the developer Algol and the Town Hall of the Villa. The Councilor for Urban Planning, Domingo Cejas, insisted on the important role of this agreement for Costa Teguise. "The main beneficiaries are the residents of the municipality," explained the councilor. "Right now the Teguise Town Hall does not have its own land in Costa Teguise, so this is a good opportunity to acquire it."

The agreement went ahead despite the fact that all the opposition groups voted against it, except for the PP, which abstained. "We don't like agreements with developers," said the socialist Pedro Martín Rivero. "This is an agreement that is presented already made, with businessmen who previously did not want to negotiate," he said. For its part, Coalición Canaria justified its vote against by "a series of clauses that we do not fully understand," according to María de las Nieves Castro.

The PIL was the most forceful party in its vote, stating that they are going to present "the allegations that we deem appropriate. This agreement is scandalous, it is a mockery for the residents of Teguise."

The approved agreement affects all the land that Algol has acquired in Costa Teguise, which totals 1,500,000 square meters and represents 85 percent of the total developable land in this town. According to this agreement, the real estate developer will cede 135,800 square meters to the Teguise Town Hall for public use. "This land will be used for sports, cultural and educational equipment," explained the mayor of Teguise, Juan Pedro Hernández.

At the same time, Algol renounces the construction of 50 percent of the 7,500 residential homes it had planned, with an average area of 120 square meters, while setting a deadline of 2010 for the construction of 850 of them.

In exchange, the Teguise Town Hall undertakes to allow Algol a reorganization of its plots in terms of buildability, although "maintaining the volume that the developer currently has," according to Domingo Cejas. At the same time, the Council also supports the construction of a five-star hotel and an attached convention center, which would be located near the Arenas de Costa Teguise School.