The Municipality of La Orotava began this week the emergency works on the slope of Bollullo beach to try to eliminate the risk of new rockfalls and to be able to reopen this bathing area to the public as soon as possible, closed since last December 30, 2021. The mayor of Security and Territory Planning, Narciso Perez (CC)details that “the work will cost 186,000 euros” and that, according to the forecasts of the municipal technicians and the winning company itself, “the beach may be reopened before next summer.”
In mid-January, the mayor of La Orotava, Francisco Linares (CC)signed the decree that approves the emergency declaration of the work necessary to prevent further landslides on the cliff of Bollullo beach, in the protected agricultural area of The corner. According to reports from the Municipal Technical OfficeLinares then gave the green light to start the contracting file for the sanitation and protection works of a part of the cliff where on December 30, 2021 large rocks fell again on the access path.
“This emergency declaration allows for faster deadlines and is fully justified because the beach remains closed and these are totally necessary actions to guarantee the safety of people. In the January plenary session, the contracting proposal for the works was raisedwhich have been awarded to the Solutioma companywhich is specialized in this type of work”, he indicates.
Before starting work, it was necessary to formalize a lease for nearby land to stockpile materials and machinery. Once the works began, Pérez points out that “work has started with enough time for the beach to be open next summer. The forecast is that the accesses to the beach are open and in safe conditions between the end of May and the beginning of June».
The works have a cost of 186,000 euros, which are added to the 130,000 euros invested in summer
«Many people ask us how it is possible that this situation has been repeated if a protective mesh was already put up last summer, but the reality that intervention was in another area of the beach», explains Perez. The mayor adds that “in addition, we are in a cliff space, where there will never be full guarantees that new landslides will not occur. What we can do is put all the protection and security elements necessary to reduce this danger as much as possible. This latest landslide occurred in an area where we had not acted during the summer, and it was not done because we were only authorized to act in an emergency in the area affected by the rock fall at that time. With this second intervention We have almost managed to clean up and protect between 60 and 80% of the cliff».
To achieve a comprehensive solution, Narcissus Perez explains that “it is necessary that the El Rincon Consortium carry out the necessary expropriations to carry out a comprehensive project, which includes the entire path from Los Patos beach to El Bollullo”. Just as the plenary session has demanded.
Bollullo beach It was closed between July 2 and September 4, 2021 due to landslides that forced the investment of more than 130,000 euros in improving security. For now, the cove has been closed for another 48 days due to landslides.
