The Superior Court of Justice of the Canaries (TSJC) has ruled against the Cabildo of Tenerife regarding the motor circuit project. In a judgement dated 10 June 2026, the court dismissed the island authority’s appeal and confirmed the expiration of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the adaptation of the Tenerife International Motor Park to flood defence plans.
This marks the second time the high court has upheld the invalidity of the 2011 EIS, following a similar decision in April concerning the project for temporary grandstand installations. The ruling is another setback for the project and supports claims made by the Tenerife Friends of Nature Association (ATAN), which has challenged various initiatives related to the motor circuit. According to ATAN, this latest ruling adds to five court decisions against the project.
The crux of the issue lies in the validity of the 2011 EIS, which stipulated it would expire if work did not begin within five years. The Cabildo argued that a document signed on 23 August 2016 marked the start of work, just before the deadline. However, courts have consistently rejected this claim, stating there was no real commencement of construction.
Key evidence included technical reports from the island authority suggesting zero progress on the project as of November 2022, alongside internal documents from July 2017 recommending contract termination due to “clear abandonment of work.” ATAN asserts these findings show there was no genuine execution of the project, necessitating a new environmental assessment.
Following this latest decision, ATAN plans to request a suspension of any further activities related to the motor circuit and demands the restoration of the affected land to its previous state. The organisation argues that the accumulation of adverse judicial resolutions leaves the project without sufficient legal or environmental backing.
ATAN also highlighted what it sees as a contradiction in the island president Rosa Dávila’s stance on environmental protection, recalling her opposition to other developments on the island while defending the motor circuit legally.
This ruling arrives just two months after the TSJC annulled another associated project regarding temporary grandstand installations on 15 April 2026. The recent decisions strengthen a jurisprudential trend questioning the legal viability of the Tenerife International Motor Centre project, which now faces five unfavourable court outcomes. The next steps by the Cabildo will be crucial for the project’s future.
