The Canarian Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment has initiated a disciplinary file against the promoter of Cradle of the Soul because the project, which is being developed in the Puertito de Adeje, lacks the mandatory environmental impact assessment.
An offense constituting a serious administrative infraction, sources from the Ecological Transition Department confirmed to Efe.
With this procedure, in which it is proposed to penalize the company for an amount that could amount to 110,000 euros, the precautionary stoppage of the works is decreed, already effective after a prior order from the department headed by José Antonio Valbuena in the presence at the work of specimens of sad viborina, a plant species of special protection.
The promoter of Cuna del Alma has a period of 15 days to submit allegations to this sanction proposal, which is in addition to the one promoted by the General Directorate of Historical Heritage of the Government of the Canary Islands for the damage caused to archaeological sites in a part of the surface where the works are carried out.
In the event that the company acknowledges its responsibility in this omission of the mandatory environmental impact assessment, it could see the amount of the sanction reduced to 66,000 euros, specify the sources consulted by EFE.
In recent days there has been a crossover of statements between the Ecological Transition counselor, José Antonio Valbuena, and the councilor for the area in the Adeje City Council, Manuel Luis Méndez, on account of which administration would have to assume eventual compensation to the promoter from Cradle of the Soul.
The counselor pointed out that both the Environmental Impact Law and the old Land Law require a simplified environmental impact study for holiday developments outside developed land, as he understands to be the case of Cuna del Alma, in Puertito de Adeje.
The mayor of Adeje replied that “the discrepancy” arises around the obligatory nature or not of this strategic environmental impact assessment in the urbanization project (the construction of roads, not the proposed villas and hotel), which is what which is authorized and was being executed until the precautionary stoppage of the works.
And in the City Council they consider that this study is not necessary since the modification of the municipal planning that concerns the area of the Puertito de Adeje already had an environmental report, mandatory in that process that was endorsed by the Territory and Environment Planning Commission of Canary Islands (Cotmac) in 2018.
