Given the controversy fueled by the laying this year of the first stone of the hotel complex Cradle of the Soulin El Puertito de Adeje -on Saturday there was a demonstration against-, it is convenient to know the file that has had the building license of the City Council of Adeje and the different steps followed until now, in which almost all the administrations have intervened public.
The Councilor for Urban Planning of Adeje, Manuel Luis Méndez, recalls that “the urban development of the El Puertito de Adeje area has a history of 40 years, since the Subsidiary Regulations of 1982. This last procedure, which has been the modification of the PGO of Adeje in the area of El Puertito began in 2014 and was completed in 2022 with the publication in the BOP of its approval. We must not forget that it is a private initiative on land owned by them and that they already had acquired rights, at least, since 1998, when the Partial Plan was approved”.
“All the administrative procedures that this file has had to follow”, continues the mayor, “have been carried out in compliance with the current legislation at all times. The Government of the Canary Islands, the Cabildo and the City Council, within the scope of their powers, have reported positively on the project over these years. Any deficiency and correction that was required was adequately corrected until the time of approval. As it cannot be otherwise, the laws and regulations that we give ourselves in our rule of law are there to comply with them and in this procedure they have been scrupulously complied with”.
Asking about the damage caused to an archaeological site, for which the Canary Islands Government Heritage has proposed a fine of 600,000 euros -the highest it can impose-, Méndez points out that “as regards the protection of the natural environment and respect for the archaeological and ethnographic heritage, we are the first interested in its protection. Also in these environmental and patrimonial aspects there is applicable legislation and based on it the different environmental impact studies have been approved. When there has been any complaint in recent months, it has acted in accordance with the law and the competent technicians of the various administrations have once again reported favorably and corrective measures have been taken to avoid damage during the continuation of the works. I repeat, to make it sufficiently clear, specific errors that have been detected have been corrected and the legal certainty of the people who have decided to make an investment like this must prevail, which, we are convinced, when it is developed, will allow the recovery of a space in our municipality that until now has suffered enormous deterioration and great wear and tear due to the misuse that has been made of these spaces. Anyone who knows the area or has visited it knows it and has seen it”.
Can’t stop Cradle of the Soul
From the City Council of Adeje, obviously concerned about the strong response of environmental groups and groups to this project and some political party such as Podemos, it insists that “the Government of the Canary Islands has said it and the Cabildo has said it, there are no legal reasons to stop the project. The file has been done as all the procedures mark and has been processed for more than eight years in which it has been supervised and monitored by different organizations and public officials.
The City Council of Adeje has the duty and obligation to protect the legality and current regulations. We live in a state of law and differences and conflicts must be resolved through legality. This project has passed all the filters, not only from the City Council, but from the rest of the administrations involved; therefore, we cannot act capriciously or irresponsibly without taking these circumstances into account”, remarked Manuel Luis Méndez.
