José Manuel Bermúdez is clear about it. This coming year will be key to true progress in the city. He affirms, excitedly, that many works will be completed and, in addition, other very important works will begin for the urban development of the capital, aimed at making it more sustainable and friendly to neighbors and visitors. Challenges on the table that will begin to take shape thanks to the “investment” budget that the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council will have for 2024, which will exceed 300 million euros. “It will be a great year,” emphasizes the mayor, a few days before the first event of the Carnival.
-What do you value about the year that has ended and with what expectations do you face 2024?
“In 2023 there were elections and a new mandate was opened, with the advantage that the government group formed after the elections (CC and PP) had already been working together. Therefore, the great news is that there was no stoppage due to the elections, but rather the City Council continued at cruising speed executing the set objectives, which allowed the budget execution rates to increase in the second half compared to the previous year. . Now, we have a consolidated city project and a very well-worked government program that has managed to carry out all the initiatives without any stoppage after the elections, something that has not happened in other municipal governments in which changes have occurred. For this reason, 2024 arrives with enthusiasm and, furthermore, with a budget that will be approved this Monday at the Government Board, and definitively throughout this month, estimated at more than 300 million euros, which will allow conclude works and begin new ones thanks to a long-awaited investment injection that will benefit both the neighborhoods and the city center. “Both this budget and the 2025 budget are going to be key to seeing very clear progress in Santa Cruz.”
-You also requested that the regional government include specific items for the capital. Have they been taken into account?
“In the Parliament of the Canary Islands I requested that the Government include specific items to be able to carry out the reform of the Spa, the attention of the dining room of the Municipal Reception Center and the burying of the TF-4, a route into Santa Cruz in its path. by the Auditorium. At this last point, the drafting of the technical project will begin and I have asked the Government to evaluate the possibility of putting it out to tender, as was done in Fañabé, to speed up the process and start the work as soon as possible. These three actions are included in the budget of the Autonomous Community for 2024 and it is another great news.”
-And what will be the objectives to be undertaken this year?
“In 2024 the great objective will be to advance the Santa Cruz zero discharge plan. We are going to enter a phase of very important works in the municipality, where those in the Tachero area, in Anaga, and those in Añaza will be completed. In addition, a basic phase in the execution will begin and it will be very noticeable due to the inconvenience it will cause to citizens, since the expansion of the Buenos Aires treatment plant will soon be undertaken, which will involve works on Avenida Manuel Hermoso and its surroundings. of Meridian to channel the pipes. All of these works, which have already been seen in Santa María del Mar or Añaza, will allow Santa Cruz to be a municipality with zero discharges into the sea, an essential objective of the city. In addition, the State has been requested to build another treatment plant in the El Chorrillo area, which I hope will soon be a reality, although in the meantime with the pumping that is being carried out from Añaza to the Santa María del Mar station, and from this to the plant, it will be possible to work without spills so that Santa Cruz disappears from that black dot map and finally opens to the sea in all its senses.”
-Since you are talking about the coast, how is the development of the capital’s new access to the sea going?
“They are moving forward. The Los Charcos area, in Valleseco, will soon be opened, which has been delayed in delivery due to small problems that are already being resolved. But, regarding Valleseco, I announce that the intention is to continue investing in this coast of the capital, since we still have a part to join. With Los Charcos, about to open, El Block, which is also open, plus the actions carried out on Acapulco and Alemana beaches, the idea is that the entire coastline of more than a kilometer will be united with a new area, for which They are working on a basic proposal to link the Ligrasa part with El Block, taking advantage of the existing breakwaters that can be used for a solarium and with access stairs to the sea. Furthermore, we are going to organize and give a little dignity to the surroundings of the Carboneras warehouses, since in front there is a chamizo that should be used and for this reason I have commissioned a project to be drawn up for its future conditioning, which can be presented to the neighbors and start working as soon as possible.”
-And in Las Teresitas?
“At Las Teresitas beach our objective is to approve the Special Plan that allows the execution of the sanitation works, the lighting of the promenade and the awarding of the rehabilitation of the breakwater of the dam, which will begin this year. Thus, before the end of 2024, the final part of the beach will be finished and will have equipped stairs, a solarium and a safe environment. Furthermore, another project lies in the intention to build a small hotel on the beach, not on the front line but behind the mountain, which will generate economy in the San Andrés and Anaga area, the gateway to the World Biosphere Reserve. It will be a lodging establishment, with no more than 200 rooms, that will create around one hundred new jobs in the area and whose intention is to inaugurate it during this term.”
-Santa Cruz will be turned upside down with so much work…
“The budget for 2024 includes many new works and others that continue, such as that of La Rosa street, to which those of Francisco La Roche will be added to make it the first 100% sustainable road in the Canary Islands. In addition, the bike lane will be expanded, work will be carried out in the Low Emissions Zone and the pedestrianization of the Nuestra Señora de África Market will begin. The rehabilitation of the football fields will continue, to which new facilities will be added such as the large public-private sports complex next to the stadium, which will represent a leap in quality in the city’s sports offer. Also this year the future Pum Track will be held in Los Gladiolos and the long-awaited renovation of the Guimerá Theater will begin, along with the continuity of the Viera and Clavijo. The paving of streets will continue and there will be more parking spaces, such as the one on the dock esplanade, which is now open all year round. It is true that Santa Cruz is going to be turned upside down between 2024 and 2025, years in which the Masonic Temple will also be completed and in which we await the help of the Government and the Cabildo to begin other pending rehabilitation projects, such as that of the historic buildings Irineo González or Marqués de Villasegura, a project that I hope will be approved in these first three months. However, not everything will be works, as large festivals will be promoted in the capital that will generate economy in the city as many people come to see Ed Sheeran or Marc Anthony. Frankly, it is going to be a very good 2024, where many things will be completed or started and also with guaranteed financing that is accompanied by the change of attitude on the part of the Government, Port Authority and Cabildo, since the latter will allocate in their budgets from 2024 more than 20 million to the capital, when in 2023 it did not reach seven million.”
-The State has been asked to postpone the implementation of the Low Emissions Zone (ZBE). Is there a response?
“We still do not have a response, but we are not the only municipality that has requested this extension, although we have shown that each and every one of the actions is already underway. The Government of Spain has only been asked for a one-year postponement because we understand that it is the time necessary to have the contracts completed and thus, on January 1, 2025, be able to have the ZBE up and running.”
-We talk about works, but regarding Social Services, what actions will there be in 2024?
“We are the municipality of the Canary Islands with the highest investment in Social Services per inhabitant and the third provincial capital, along with Granada and Barcelona, in caring for the most vulnerable people, which demonstrates the political will to help families, minors, elderly or problematic of drug addiction. Along these lines, we are going to dedicate what is necessary to continue investing with those most in need and we will also continue with the rehabilitation of public housing thanks to European funds, in addition to the construction of 384 new social housing in the municipality. We are about to deliver the first ones in María Jiménez and, also, this year those in Cuevas Blancas and those on Avenida Príncipes de España will be completed.”
-Regarding social housing, the problem with Visocan continues to fester in the face of evictions in Añaza. Have you already had a response?
“The Government still does not respond to a letter that I sent more than a month ago, in which I defended that families who are users of Social Services cannot be evicted but rather helped and, in this sense, the City Council is willing to collaborate . If a family asks for help with electricity, water or food, it is not logical for a public company to begin the path of eviction due to non-payment. Solutions must be found and the City Council has offered to pay part of the debt so that these families have an easier time contributing their part, which is very little money. “I await Visocan’s response, although on this matter I am in direct contact with the president, Fernando Clavijo.”
-And shortly, the Carnivals. What do you expect from these holidays?
“I have high expectations for this year’s Carnival, which will begin next Friday, the 12th. There is a new team with innovative projects that I trust will add more value, although my wish is that the party continues on the street with the same success as until now. I see things in other municipalities, like Las Palmas, that I think are a setback. For this reason, I will continue defending, as mayor and deputy, the health of Carnival in the streets. In addition, this year there will also be a very important change, as the Autonomous Body will become a public business entity of the City Council, which will provide more flexibility and agility to the management of the festivities.”
