The mayor of the orotava, Francisco Linares, accompanied by the Councilor for Territorial Planning, Narciso Pérez, held the first working meeting with the new General Director of Territorial Planning of the Government of the Canary Islands, Onán Cruz Díaz. Linares put on the table aspects as relevant as the drafting of the General Plan of the municipality (PGO), as well as the different projects that the El Rincón Consortium has worked on in recent years for this emblematic area of the northern town .
The first institutional representative stressed the need to resume the drafting of the new General Plan of La Orotava as soon as possible, “a document that we will once again expose to public information – he pointed out – so that citizens can learn about the small adjustments regarding to the initial proposal. In this line, he also asserted that for the government team that he presides “it is a clear objective that the final approval of the General Plan can be completed in this term.”
Francisco Linares announces that a document follow-up table will be convened in September where the City Council and the Government of the Canary Islands will establish a work schedule and the guidelines to follow, in order to have a planning adapted to the land use guidelines.
The Orotava mayor stresses that the PGO is a fundamental tool for the development and future planning of the municipality. In this sense, he stresses that it will adapt to the current socioeconomic reality and will be a new city model that will generate employment in other complementary sectors. Thus -he assesses- the new Plan foresees the declassification of more than 800,000 square meters of developable land (such as about 80 soccer fields), so that La Orotava will become the first municipality in the Canary Islands to declassify developable land. He also assured that no more large surfaces will be installed in the Villa, and the philosophy will be maintained in the El Rincón area. It is a plan that is respectful of the territory, which promotes rural land and includes a detailed collection of the numerous rural settlements that make up the landscape of the subdivisions. La Orotava, a sustainable Villa, he pointed out.
Another relevant aspect that was revealed at the meeting are the different projects that are pending promotion from the El Rincón Consortium. The Orotava mayor has already requested that this body be convened as soon as possible, once the new representatives of the different administrations have been appointed. Among other projects for this area, the improvement of the Camino del Bollullo stands out, which is already drawn up, or the improvement of the coastal path in the drafting phase. Both are key for citizens who want to enjoy this protected space.
Similarly, Linares announced that he will also request the Consortium to resume the El Rincón irrigation improvement project, as well as other issues that have been raised in recent years to help and protect agriculture in the area.
Commitment to start work as soon as possible
The General Director of Territorial Planning, Onán Cruz Díaz, thanked the representatives of the La Orotava City Council for their welcome and promised to start working together to promote both the General Plan and the different projects for El Rincón and the municipality.
