The news in February revealed that the works announced in January 2022 – and subsequently halted – were set to proceed once more. The Historic Heritage Management Service, under the La Laguna Urban Planning Department, had given favourable feedback on the modified project for the Rehabilitation of the old San Agustín church. Modified execution project for the consolidation phase of the San Agustín ruins.
However, the situation is once again not without its challenges. Official sources from the City Council’s governing group in La Laguna (PSOE-CC) indicate that the works will take a few months to kick off. “Now that the modified report has been approved, the next steps will be, once the budget comes into force: inviting tenders, signing the works contract modification, and hiring the safety and health plan,” they explained, before adding, “The intention is for the works to recommence before the summer.”
Specifically, the start was announced in mid-January 2023. The long-awaited moment had arrived. Previously, in December 2019, the local government of the previous term (PSOE, Unidas, and Avante) announced that the works to consolidate the structure were out for tender. This followed the direction set in the previous government era when they decided to forgo the ambitious project that won an international design competition in 2005 in favour of a more discreet intervention that would give rise to an open space.
The interior of the San Agustín ruins, in an archived image. | CWL / D. Ramos
A €1.1 Million Project
The new budget for the works’ physical execution amounts to €902,056, while the tender budget, including the IGIC, stands at €1,148,588. The project is essentially the same as the one announced back in January 2022 when the City Council of La Laguna revealed the start of the works: providing stability to the ruins from the choir area of the old church to Plaza Guillermo Rancés, without intervening in the adjacent Bethlemitas building. The aim is for this to allow the space to be visited again once the works are completed, thus restoring an emblematic site in Aguere. According to information provided at the time by the local institution, resins will be injected for structural consolidation, and a reversible floor will be installed (which can be removed at any time without affecting important historical elements).
When asked recently about the modified project, the City Council’s governing group in La Laguna explained that the modifications focus on the facilities, sound systems, plumbing… “The key is the price update,” highlighted official sources, before also mentioning safety.
