Los Patos beach, located in the municipality of La Orotava, in the north of Tenerife, is one of the most popular spots among bathers on the island. However, it requires some effort to reach, as it is nestled beneath a cliff and access to the sand involves descending numerous steps. It is a wild beach, open to the sea, surrounded by steep and high rock walls. More than three years ago, during the previous legislature, the Cabildo initiated works to install new stairs to access the sand, but by late 2023, with the new government group in the corporation, the beach was closed again. It has remained closed for over a year now.
Now the Socialist Group in the Tenerife Cabildo, along with the Socialist Group in the La Orotava Town Council, have demanded that the island government, made up of Coalición Canaria and the Partido Popular, and the Town Council itself, governed by Coalición Canaria, present a clear plan with defined deadlines for reopening the beach, which has been closed since late 2023 due to “risk of landslides.”
Socialist councillor Javier Rodríguez Medina emphasised that “the reopening of Los Patos in 2022 was the result of the work of the previous island government led by Pedro Martín, which succeeded in bringing together all the competent administrations to carry out the necessary works and recover this natural space for the residents of La Orotava, the north, and all of Tenerife, after being closed for more than ten years.” However, he lamented that now both the Cabildo and the Town Council “seem resigned to keep the beach closed with no prospect of a solution, abandoning a site of enormous environmental and social value.”
“The PSOE demands a firm commitment to the safe reopening of Los Patos, establishing a public schedule of actions and informing citizens transparently. We cannot allow a lack of political will to condemn this space to neglect once again,” insisted Rodríguez Medina. The councillor also criticised the words of island director Pedro Millán, who stated that “nature doesn’t have to be accessible all the time,” labelling them as “an unacceptable justification for the inaction of the institutions.”
Rodríguez recalled that during the socialist mandate in the Cabildo, “public resources were allocated to guarantee safe access, strictly complying with all environmental and scenic requirements.” “That’s why it is incomprehensible that now the Cabildo and the Town Council limit themselves to waiting indefinitely for a geological study, without moving towards solutions or setting concrete deadlines,” he declared.
For her part, the spokesperson for the Socialist Group in the La Orotava Town Council, María Jesús Alonso, stressed: “We are the first to prioritise the safety of people, but too much time has passed without action being taken. It is striking to see how year after year access to our beaches remains unresolved, both on the way to Bollullo and in the case of Los Patos, while Coalición Canaria in La Orotava remains silent and the Cabildo delays reports.”
Alonso added that “Coalición Canaria in La Orotava has been quite aggressive at other times with this protected space, but now it seems not to be on the ball. Their timelines for providing solutions are different from those of the people, who do expect answers.”
Finally, the PSOE reminded that the La Orotava Town Council, the Demarcation of Coasts, and the Environment Department of the Cabildo are working on a geological study that should determine the actual state of the cliff and possible corrective measures. “However, there is no transparency regarding the current diagnosis or the next steps to reopen the beach. That is why we urge both administrations to abandon the policy of inaction and to work together with a clear plan, public deadlines, and a real commitment to Los Patos and the north of Tenerife,” they concluded.
