The Socialist Party (PSOE) of Teguise questioned in the plenary session held this Thursday the way in which the local government addresses the proposal to legalize the urbanistic skeleton of plot 216 of Costa Teguise, as well as the content of the punctual modification of the planning proposed for it, whose environmental procedure has been agreed to initiate.
Specifically, the Plenary session approved initiating the corresponding environmental assessment process for this punctual modification, a step within the necessary procedure to continue with its urbanistic processing. The initiative was approved with the favorable votes of the municipal government, formed by Coalición Canaria (CC), Partido Popular (PP), and the former councilor of Vox.
The socialists demanded that any attempt to legalize a structure arising from urbanistic non-compliance be addressed with maximum transparency, within the law, guaranteeing equality and compensating the general interest.
For the socialist spokesperson, Marcos Bergaz, "the existing concern about the urbanistic skeletons that Costa Teguise still suffers from is evident, hence all the initiatives we have defended in recent years from the socialist group, with a very clear maximum: any solution must be subordinated to transparency, equality, legality, and the defense of the general interest."
"We have advocated for demolition, as we achieved in other cases; or, if not possible, as seems to be the case with plot 216 because that possibility has expired, its legalization, but always with maximum transparency, within the law, and with compensation to public interest," said Bergaz, who considered that "the non-compliance that originated this skeleton, the grievance with respect to those who did comply with the rules, and the consequences that this situation has had for Costa Teguise" must also be taken into account.
The socialists also reproached that the local government "has not publicly explained," in their opinion, "a proposal of notable technical, urbanistic, and legal complexity."
“They did not report at the time on the processing of a minor specific modification of the General Plan at the request of the owner to try to provide a solution to the skeleton; in fact, it was the Socialist Party who had to make it known. Now they brought to the plenary session the initiative to start the environmental process of that modification without explaining to the opposition, in the mandatory information commission prior to the plenary session, nor to public opinion, the content of the proposal. Thus, of course, the doubts of insiders and outsiders are fed,” Bergaz highlighted.
“And this is despite the fact that we have invited both the Government of the past term, exclusively with Coalición Canaria, and the current one, with its partners from the Partido Popular and the former councilor from Vox, to abandon this strategy of lack of transparency, but there is no way,” he added.
Changes in criteria and two plots for hotel use
Bergaz also focused on the changes in criteria that, according to him, appear in the file regarding the two affected plots.
“Plot 216, where the skeleton is located, originally had non-hotel use and is now proposed to be converted into a hotel; while plot 232, for hotel use, was initially planned to be converted to residential and would finally also remain as hotel use,” he explained.
“In short, with the proposed plan, we find ourselves with two plots for hotel use where there was initially one hotel and one non-hotel, finally discarding the possibility of allocating plot 232 for residential use. And this seems especially relevant to us in a context of housing emergency like the one Lanzarote is experiencing,” said the socialist spokesperson.
“From the PSOE we have argued that, wherever it is urbanistically and legally possible, we must bet on converting land intended for tourist uses into residential land to meet the housing needs of the population. Lanzarote does not need more tourist beds, but it does need more housing for people,” stated Bergaz.
The socialist group also questioned the chosen formula and defended the need to avoid “tailor-made solutions” and guarantee the equality of all citizens.
“We would have bet on addressing these cases through a general review of the General Plan that would allow for a global response to planning, instead of modifying it specifically to resolve a concrete situation. However, the local government has spent the entire term without initiating an update of the General Plan as we proposed,” Bergaz pointed out.
For the socialist spokesperson, “the solution proposed for the skeleton of plot 216 must respond to the general interest and not become a tailor-made exception for a specific property.”
“We are talking about an action that affects planning, land uses, buildability, and the future of a part of Costa Teguise. That is why it is essential that citizens know what is intended to be modified, why it is intended to be modified, and what compensation the general interest obtains,” he added.
Specifically, the minor specific modification of the planning, requested by the company GRUPO HOTELES PLAYA S.A., affects the existing skeleton on plot 216 of Costa Teguise, next to the Hotel Playa Verde, whose license and subsequent extensions were annulled by the Courts for non-compliance with current regulations.
The proposal submitted for processing plans to change the classification of said plot from non-hotel to hotel, with an increase of 8,018 square meters of buildable area, going from the current 15,316 to 23,334 square meters, and an increase of 112 places, from the original 388 to 500.
These increases would be carried out, according to the proposal, in exchange for a parallel reduction in the buildability of another hotel plot located above Las Palmeras avenue, which would go from 22,000 to 13,982 square meters of buildable area, as well as a decrease in its places from 471 to 299, maintaining its hotel classification.
“We want the problem to be resolved, but not at any cost. Legality, transparency, equality, and compensation to the general interest must be the non-negotiable conditions of any solution. And, if the planning is modified, it must be with maximum transparency and a guarantee that it is a justified and beneficial decision for the municipality,” concluded the socialist leader.
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