The President of the Tenerife Island Council, Rosa Dávila, supports the recovery of La Tejita “if the decision of the Granadilla de Abona City Council, which is the one that grants the permit” to build the hotel, “is to reverse that action and, therefore, halt the construction.” She announces that the Island Corporation will “closely collaborate” if there is “a change in criteria” and the Mayor, the socialist Jennifer Miranda, decides to “come to the rescue of that land and restore it to its natural state.” This action will allow for the recovery of La Tejita, “a symbol of Tenerife and Canarias as well.”
Rosa Dávila maintains that the Tenerife Island Council will put forth efforts to save La Tejita, but through consensus, stating that “all administrations must make their position clear, and therefore, coordination is very important.” All of this, under “scrupulous compliance with the law.”
This statement comes after the President of the Canary Islands Government, Fernando Clavijo, announced the convening of the Granadilla Mayor and the Mayor of Adeje, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga. This announcement is countered by Jennifer Miranda, who also mentioned Clavijo and Dávila and Hugo Morán, Secretary of State for the Environment, to address possible solutions to the La Tejita hotel project.
The cessation of construction work and the revocation of the permit will result in compensations, as warned by the Minister of Ecological Transition, Mariano Hernández Zapata. Before the Parliament, he mentioned the existence of three court rulings reflecting “the damage suffered by the promoters” of the La Tejita hotel, attributed to political decisions of the previous government, which will lead to “multi-million euro compensation claims.” The Minister states, “It will be the Canarians who will pay for the mistakes of the previous government.”
Absence of Purchase File
In response to a question from the socialist MP Patricia Hernández about the intention to continue with the land purchase file for the hotel construction site, Hernández Zapata states: “There is neither a purchase file nor sufficient funds allocated.” He clarifies that this matter “was not even mentioned” in the handover from the previous government to the current one. “A file should have a number and a procedure in the General Directorate of Heritage, which, in this case, does not exist.”
Infographic of the La Tejita Hotel. / El Día
The Minister of Ecological Transition acknowledges that a valuation was presented by the construction company, Grupo Viqueira, “a valuation that expired on two occasions under the previous government.” For such an acquisition, certain necessity conditions must be substantiated, which are not mentioned in any technical report, notes Hernández Zapata, who explains that in the Canary Islands Budget, there is only 3.9 million Euros “for the regeneration of the coastal area.”
Despite these explanations, Patricia Hernández claims that “there is an agreed price with the construction company (apparently 25 million).” “They must proceed with the purchase process and halt the construction of the hotel.” The MP criticizes the Minister for Tourism and the Granadilla Mayor for “dragging their feet on this issue for ten months” to resolve the problem.
Charging for Natural Spaces
One of the measures taken by the Island Council in response to the 20A demonstration is the introduction of a fee for access to natural spaces. The plenary of the Island Corporation will take a step further and approve the initiation of the legal and economic study of this scheme. “The proposal is to implement an ecotax for charging visitors, tourists, but not residents, and to control and restrict access to protected natural areas,” explains Rosa Dávila.
The fee is earmarked and will be used for the conservation, maintenance, and improvement of these natural environments and the provision of services to enhance visitor experience. “We are already working with the Tax Consortium, the Natural Environment department, and looking for mechanisms because each natural area is very different,” explains the Council President. The study aims to strike a balance between environmental preservation and sustainable development, ensuring that Tenerife remains an exceptional tourist destination without compromising its invaluable natural wealth, states the Island Government.
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