“The agreement between the El Mojón Compensation Board and Arona’s local council is being upheld, and construction permits are likely to be issued shortly,” remarked Luis García, the Urban Planning Councillor for Arona, during an interview with Onda Tenerife. He clarified that “by the end of this year or the start of the next, building permits will be granted, although the timing will no longer be under our control but that of the developer requesting them.”
“We – García emphasises – are quite optimistic about the prospects of the El Mojón Partial Plan, understanding that this could potentially lead to other challenges that we are already addressing, such as improving mobility in the tourist areas of Los Cristianos and Playa de las Américas. However, for a year now, we have been committed to an agreement that both the Compensation Board and the City Council are adhering to. It is true that we are still awaiting reports from the Insular Water Council regarding the pumping station located south of the Partial Plan, along with another concerning the environmental assessment of the two parks already established in El Mojón; these are the two processes we need to progress with the agreement. Once these reports are received, which I am confident will be positive, we will move to the next phase, which involves a formal request for the City Council to accept the development—an essential step before issuing construction permits. We have not deviated from this path, and we are pleased with the efforts made over the past year.”
On the subject of mobility, which concerns him significantly, the Urban Planning Councillor stated that “in addition to burying Chayofita Avenue or the road linking the TF-1 with the fountain roundabout,” they are pursuing a more cost-effective project that would require less time: “the burial of a segment of the overall access system of the highway leading to Los Cristianos, a project that would enable us to connect the eastern and western sections of El Mojón, a task currently accomplished only by navigating some of the roundabouts, facilitating better traffic flow throughout the area and within El Mojón itself.”
Luis García noted that “the El Mojón Partial Plan arrives after a considerable delay, having been approved more than thirty years ago, against a backdrop of economic circumstances and landowner demands vastly different from those existing today. At this moment, the Plan is approved, the plots are designated for specific uses, and the only parties able to decide on future developments will be the landowners, within the specified private uses for three hotels and shops. Public uses will encompass the streets, parks, and land that the Compensation Board is required to transfer to the City Council for cultural, sports, and socio-health facilities.” He also mentioned that “some landowners have already approached the City Council to request modifications to the land use on their plots to enable residential uses that were not initially planned, aside from the hotel sites that have commenced earthworks. This adjustment can only occur when the land transitions from developable status, as it currently stands, to urban status, which will take place when the reception is granted.”
