The government group (CC-PP) of Los Silos refuses to adopt the decision of the General Directorate of Coasts of Madrid to demolish the municipal swimming pool because it is in the maritime-terrestrial public domain and the concession has not been renewed on time, and warns of that it will go to court if necessary to defend a facility that has been open for 50 years and from which the entire region of Isla Baja benefits.
This was confirmed yesterday by the mayor, Macarena Fuentes (CC) and the first deputy mayor, Raquel González (PP), after learning that Costas did not accept the allegations presented “in a timely manner” by the City Council and remains firm with its intention to knock it down and leave the coast as before.
The Consistory argued “the serious damage that would be caused to the public domain, whether it is demolished or if the concession is denied, since it would imply a significant deterioration of the allegations.” He also recalled the authorization given by the Coastal delegation in Tenerife in June 2018, after the termination of the concession to carry out actions in public space for an amount of 257,637 euros, under the “accepted belief” of the aforementioned department to preserve the facilities for future use. In this sense, the file contains a favorable report from this same service that proposes a 30-year concession.
Other reasons were that the facilities “are consolidated, integrated in harmony with the landscape and make up an urban land consolidated over several decades; no physical intervention is contemplated and therefore, there will be no significant effects on the environment”. On the contrary, its demolition would have a negative ecological impact on the marine flora and fauna that lives in the dikes to protect the facilities and would entail, explained the councilor, “a transformation process with serious damage, among others, to the dike of coat of the little port’, which would be affected”.
However, none of these arguments were sufficient for the Consistory to renew the concession, which expired in 2018 and was lost due to the fact that the previous government (PSOE) did not request the extension on time. The current one began his fight to save the pool in June 2019.
The resolution of the state department reached the Municipal Registry on February 3. In it, it argues that the facilities “can be located outside the public domain”, on adjoining land, as they are not linked to it and that the cost that this would entail “is no reason to allow them to continue there”. It adds that there are “criteria of sustainability and protection” to deny the concession, such as “respect for the landscape, the environment and historical heritage, managing to maintain an adequate level of quality of the waters and the seashore and avoiding harmful works” , arguments that the City Council refuted in its allegations, as well as the fact that the extension request was not submitted on time.
“Costa’s response is an outrage, it is to laugh at the people of Silense,” said the mayor, who made it clear that the government group will appeal through administrative channels. She has a month to do it. In case of another ‘no’, “we will go as far as necessary” and she was convinced that she will have the support of the citizenry. “We will go to the dispute so that it is a judge who finally decides whether it is demolished or not,” she insisted.
Both Fuentes and González demanded greater institutional support, both from the Cabildo de Tenerife and the Government of the Canary Islands in this matter, “and to leave aside the political acronyms.” “I need the Government of the Canary Islands to be with us, with the people, but to be there,” insisted the councilor.
The facilities have been closed since 2019 with the consequent economic damage to a municipality with less than 5,000 inhabitants. “But we cannot open them because they are not ours and that can be a problem,” he clarified.
