Costas in Madrid insists on leaving the residents of Los Silos without a pool

The Silense Government (CC-PP) insists on asking the PSOE in the Canary Islands to intercede with the Government of Pedro Sánchez (PSOE) to avoid “this outrage” and warns that they will go “to the last consequences” to try to save a pool from which the Low Island has been enjoying for more than 51 years. The mayor does not rule out “taking the neighbors out into the street” and assures that “once the administrative process is over, we do have to go to court, we will go” to “stop this madness.”

Fuentes and González appeared at a press conference this Friday, February 11, 2022 to report an “unexpected” response from Costas in Madrid that has taken six months: his refusal to accept the municipal allegations to the initial rejection of the new administrative concession proposal , which does have the approval of the Provincial Demarcation of Coasts in Tenerife. «The technicians who do know our coast understand that the pool must reopen, but those who look at us through the Google Maps From Madrid they consider that this pool must be demolished and that we can build another, as if a City Council with the economic problems that Los Silos has could face a demolition of more than 3 million euros and the construction of a new facility, which would cost several million more”, regrets Fuentes.

The origin of this problem is in the error of the former Municipal Government of Los Silos (PSOE), which in 2018 did not process the renewal of the concession. Since the summer of 2019, with the pool already in the hands of Coststhe installation is closed and the City Council tries to renew a concession that Coasts in Madrid just rejected for the second time. The announced transfer of powers to Canary Islandswhich could solve this problem, “doesn’t seem like it’s going to materialize in this mandate either”, according to the nationalist mayor

The government group demands that “the public interest prevails over formalisms” and, as González recalls, “it makes no sense that Costas authorized us to improve the facilities in 2019 if his intention was to keep them closed or demolish them. Its destruction would generate significant environmental damage among the marine fauna and flora that live in the protection dikes, in addition to serious damage to the breakwater in El Puertito».

“Renewing the concession does not imply any new works or any damage to the environment and, furthermore, it is a facility that is perfectly integrated into the environment, in an urban land consolidated for decades», detailed the first deputy mayor. These arguments are part of the allegations presented on August 3, 2021, to which Costas in Madrid has not responded until February 3, 2022. A period of six months that suggests that, given the response times of coasts, Los Silos pool could continue to be closed in the summer of 2022. A great economic and social damage for Los Silos and the rest of Isla Baja.

Macarena Fuentes She was outraged and stressed that “Costas in Madrid has once again said no to the Los Silos municipal swimming pool, sad news for all of us, because we were hoping that your answer would be different. Costas’s arguments in Madrid to deny us the concession is that the extension request has been requested after the deadline”, due to an error by the previous socialist government in 2018; «that we can build swimming pools outside the maritime-terrestrial public domain», and that «there are criteria of sustainability and protection of the maritime-terrestrial public domain to deny the concession: respect for the landscape, the environment and historical heritage; maintain an adequate level of quality of the waters and the seashore, and avoid damaging works and installations». Nor do they consider that the argument of the cost of a new facility in another location is relevant.

«The truth is that swimming pools respect the landscape, the environment and heritage, they are still there just as they were more than 50 years ago; they do not occupy more surface; the quality of the waters and of the sea shore would be destroyed with a demolition, which would also be a very damaging work. That would cause terrible environmental damage. They are laughing at the municipality of Los Silos», emphasizes Sources.

In Los Silos they fear that Costas intends that the Los Silos pool, rehabilitated in 2019, end its days abandoned and deteriorated like the one in The Waters, in San Juan de la Rambla, now awaiting expensive demolition. Despite the unanimous pronouncements of the plenary session of the Cabildo de Tenerife and the town councils of the region in defense of the Silense pool, the mayor misses greater support from the regional president, Angel Victor Torres (PSOE)and hopes that the counselor Jose Antonio Valbuena (PSOE) accompany her to an upcoming meeting with Costas in Madrid.

The new allegations will be presented within a month and, in the event that the answer is not favourable, Macarena Fuentes warns: “We will go as far as necessary. We will go to the dispute and it will have to be a judge who decides if the reason is on the side of the silos or Coasts in Madrid».