The administration of Arona (PP, CC and Más por Arona) contributed this afternoon to Canarias Ahora with its account of the penalty imposed by Costas on the local council for failing to renew the necessary permits to occupy land on four of the municipality’s primary beaches, resulting in a fine of 60,000 euros. The delegate councillor for Coastal Management, Guacimara Tavío (CC), asserts that the council did request “in a timely manner the relevant authorisation for seasonal services” for the bathing areas of Las Vistas (the main cove of Arona and one of Tenerife), Los Cristianos, Charco del Marqués and Playa Honda.
Tavío stresses that “not only was it done in a timely manner, but also, noticing the holdup in receiving a response from Costas, the request was reiterated, as confirmed by the outgoing records.”
Tavío highlights that Arona “is not the sole municipality facing these sanctions, as it is widely recognised that the transfer of authority regarding Coastal matters from the State to the Autonomous Community has resulted in numerous significant shortcomings and delays in processing procedures, leading to the imposition of penalties by the State.” In this regard, he insists that the local administration “has fulfilled its obligations and sought the necessary authorisation promptly,” expressing confidence that the penalty will be cancelled, although the government does not specify if it has articulated this opinion during the relevant allegations period.
The penalty from Costas pertains to the management of sun loungers, umbrellas, various sports courts on the sand, and other recreational facilities on those four local beaches. The sanction document originated from the Costas de Tenerife service and the general management of Coast and Sea, which operates under the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, although there is no mention of the transfer of powers in the resolution. It was issued on July 4 and made its way to the local Corporation on the 19th of that month.
According to the details in this document, the penalty stems from the current administration’s failure to secure the necessary authorisation from Costas in a timely manner, as this authority is non-transferable since it is the competent administration, and without this enabling title, these services cannot operate in these bathing areas. The total area affected by these services over the four beaches is 16,926 square meters. In the case of Las Vistas, the penalty concerns the 1,200 sun loungers, 600 umbrellas, eight scooters, four paddle surfboards, and four 250 square metre courts dedicated to this activity, as well as two beach tennis courts of equivalent size. Overall, the land occupied by these services on the principal beach of Los Cristianos is 11,212 square metres.
In reference to the beach called Los Cristianos, the fine relates to the 4,358 square metres occupied by 300 sun loungers, 150 umbrellas, four beach volleyball courts, two beach tennis courts, and a sailing school. In Charco del Marqués, there is a surf school that includes a booth (with an occupied area of 120 square metres) and another for the same activity without facilities (30 square metres), whilst Playa Honda contains 100 sun loungers and 50 umbrellas, two surf schools with booths and 20 boards, as well as four additional surf schools without any facilities, covering a total of 1,206 square metres.
