Citizen collectives and those affected by the Cuna del Alma tourism project have demanded that the Tenerife Cabildo suspend the works within a maximum of 48 hours. The groups, who have already filed a criminal complaint against the mayor of Adeje and the promoters, submitted a letter to the insular corporation and the Government of the Canary Islands on Wednesday. In it, they warn of the “numerous serious irregularities” detected in the construction of these 420 luxury villas and request an urgent technical inspection by an independent team. Furthermore, they have asked for a sanctioning file to be opened against the Town Hall and the company Segunda Casa Adeje S.L.
In the document consulted by this newspaper, the collectives outline possible irregularities of the project and warn the Cabildo that if they do not address their requests, they may incur in “administrative prevarication by omission.” Additionally, they threaten to expand the criminal complaint filed on 24 July before the Arona Investigating Court and to refer the matter to the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the European Commission for a supposed violation of the European directive on heritage impact assessment.
The collectives Rebelión Científica Canarias, Acampada Reivindicativa Lolo Dorta, Tagoror Permanente, La Gaveta 20A, the Association of Salaried Taxi Drivers Costa Adeje, and the directly affected individual by the expropriations, Juan Francisco Galindo, have requested that the Cabildo issue a formal requirement to Adeje to “suspend all urban planning licenses linked to the project” within 24 hours and to provide all documentation regarding the authorisations granted.
The letter firstly refers to the Cultural Heritage Law of the Canary Islands, which obliges the island councils to adopt, in urgent cases, precautionary measures to prevent actions that could destroy the cultural heritage of the Canary Islands. In this context, the works of Cuna del Alma have already caused “irreversible” damage to a site in the area. The regional government opened a sanctioning file against the promoter, who also breached the precautionary measure that ordered the suspension of works and continued with interventions “in a protected area.”
On 9 July, the Tagoror Permanente collective from El Puertito de Adeje, constituted to inform “in situ about the destructive advance of the macroproject’s works,” forwarded findings of more relevant archaeological materials such as Guanche engravings, indigenous ceramics, and other remains that could correspond to “ancient residential or ritual uses” to the Island Directorate of Historical Heritage. Regarding these recent findings, the collectives insist that the Cabildo is obliged to act in accordance with the current Partial Plan, the Cabildos Law, and the Cultural Heritage Law.
Therefore, the collectives have requested that the Cabildo issue a detailed public report within 72 hours about all notifications of findings received since the start of the works, what measures have been adopted or the justification if none have been taken, and the communications maintained with the Town Hall and the promoter regarding the project’s heritage impact.
Additionally, they have requested an urgent technical inspection within a maximum of five days by a multidisciplinary team involving archaeologists, biologists, legal experts from Canary Islands universities, scientific collectives, and representatives of the complainants to “ensure transparency.” They also request the appointment of municipal inspectors to assist in the Cabildo’s inspection.
Just minutes after registering the letter at the Citizen Attention area of the Cabildo, the collectives have been summoned by the Island Directorate of Heritage.
The Compensation Board
The collectives have also reported alleged irregularities in the creation and operation of the Compensation Board. According to the letter, the Town Hall led by José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga (PSOE) for the past three decades resorted to an old urban compensation board “established last century and virtually inactive for more than two decades, instead of creating a new one, as the current legislation would have required.”
In this way, the document indicates, “it avoided going through the democratic controls required by the Land Law and the Law of Protected Natural Spaces of the Canary Islands, such as approval through the municipal plenary with legal and technical reports, official publication, deadlines, and public exposure.” “The activation of an old board, the deliberate absence of oversight, and its non-application of the current Partial Plan reveal a neglect of institutional duties that has allowed the promoter to operate without public control and begin the works, with all the damages and violations it accumulates,” the collectives emphasised.
This Compensation Board has demanded that the neighbour Jesús Galindo, owner of a property on the beachfront, hand over the keys of his property to allow the works to continue, which plans more than 3,600 tourist beds in one of the last areas free of cement in southern Tenerife.
In a letter obtained by Canarias Ahora, the Board reminds Galindo that “the works for the construction of those hotel and non-hotel places are being executed,” and that it is “necessary” for the promoter to “take possession” of the property “as soon as possible and, in any case, before 11 July.” Galindo’s son, Juan, has already announced that he will not hand over the keys and that, “if there is no agreement,” he will take the case to court.
Although the project has an initial investment of 350 million euros, the amount offered to Galindo for the expropriation of his property does not exceed 12,668.31 euros.
“If the Cabildo does not act in defence of the general interest by correcting so many irregular and presumably unlawful actions of the Town Hall of Adeje, it will also be incurring serious irregularities that may be criminal through omission,” the collectives conclude.
A Criminal Complaint
The collectives have filed a complaint against the mayor and the promoters of Cuna del Alma. In the letter, they demanded the immediate opening of a judicial investigation into possible serious crimes committed against the environment, natural heritage, urban crimes, corruption, and administrative prevarication, destruction of cultural and archaeological heritage, “as well as the scandalous connivance or inaction of supramunicipal administrations, such as the Tenerife Cabildo or the Government of the Canary Islands, which could point to a systemic urban corruption scheme of notable dimensions.”
“What is happening in Adeje is not a simple urban conflict: it is a direct attack on the territory, legality, and the common good. A unique ecosystem is being ravaged with total impunity. We demand accountability now, both politically and criminally,” they have emphasised.
The groups warn that Cuna del Alma “is being built on land of high ecological, geological, and archaeological value, despite the existence of technical reports, prior complaints, precautionary measures, alerts from the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities of the Spanish Government, and even an ignored partial plan continuously overlooked by the responsible authorities.”
