the mayor of Icod of the Wines, Francis Gonzalez (CC)ask the Canary Islands Government to initiate as soon as possible the necessary environmental impact studies to support the use of natural sand in the recovery and improvement of the emblematic beach of San Marcosand trusts that “common sense prevails” and, both State Coasts and the regional administration«comply the will of the residents of Icod». In a recent survey organized by the City Council, 90% of Icodenses they were mostly against the use of crushing sand.
González offered this Thursday, October 27, 2022, a press conference to express the municipal position regarding the refusal of the Government of Spain to authorize a popular consultation on the type of sand that should be used on the beach. He insisted that this referendum is justified and announced that studies the filing of a possible appeal before the Supreme Court against the decision of the Council of Ministers.
Although he regretted the veto of this consultation, which does not consider “any disavowal of this local government”, González stressed that his main objective is try to convince the Government of the Canary Islands and Costas that “there is still time” and it is possible to reconsider the use of crushed sand in the regeneration of this cove. On September 13, he sent a letter to the Minister of Ecological Transition, Fight against Climate Change and Territorial Planning of the Government of the Canary Islands, Jose Antonio Valbuena (PSOE), in which he asked for an urgent meeting to “defend what the people of Icod want, which is to recover the beach with natural sand.” And prevent a repeat of what happened in the 1980s, when “they killed the beach” with the fishing refuge.
Francis Gonzalez He assured this Thursday that a month and a half after sending this letter, he still has no response from Valbuena. “Since November 2021 we have been waiting for the execution project to be approved, which Costas wants to carry out with crushing sand in a hurry, since the use of natural sand does require an environmental impact study. There is time, the project is not finished and sand refills are not expected until the 13th month from the start of some works that have not even been tendered. There is time to obtain the necessary environmental studies to recover the beach with the 41,100 cubic meters of natural sand that are in the bay or with that of other banks on the island, ”said the mayor.
“The Strategy of Some”
Francis González lamented in his appearance that “the strategy of some is that nothing should be moved on the beach of San Marcos in this mandate to harm the local government”, and he focused on the PSOE and “those who have wanted this not walk despite the fact that the municipality has complied»
