The closure of Los Patos, considered one of the most stunning beaches in Tenerife, is going to take a while. This is clarified by the Town Hall of La Orotava, which emphasises that it will only reopen when the safety of bathers is fully guaranteed. This is the response from the northern council to the PSOE, which has demanded a clear plan and timelines for allowing access again.
Narciso Pérez, councillor for the Environment and Urban Planning of La Orotava, considers it “irresponsible” that “the safety of people gets entangled in political games”. “We will not enter that dynamic because we have made it clear from the very first moment that people’s physical integrity is paramount,” he underscores.
Last week, the socialist groups in the Cabildo of Tenerife and the Town Hall of La Orotava demanded that the insular government (CC and PP) and the northern council (CC) present “a clear plan, with defined timelines, for reopening Los Patos beach,” which was closed at the end of 2023 due to landslides from the cliff. Socialist councillor Javier Rodríguez lamented that “both the Cabildo and the Town Hall seem resigned to keeping the beach closed with no horizon of solution, abandoning a site of huge environmental and social value”.
The councillor of La Orotava Narciso Pérez responds that “there is a plan” which depends on a “very complex” geological report that will determine the state of the cliff and the actions to be taken to eliminate the “serious risk of further landslides”.
The issues at this large black sand cove, where nudism has historically been practised, date back a long time. It was closed in 2013 due to the poor conditions of the access stairs, which descended a steep slope and posed a great danger to visitors. A long time passed until finally, in October 2022, the works for the new stairs were completed.
On 27 December 2023
Los Patos, however, was once again closed for bathing on 27 December 2023 after a series of rock slides, which have historically been frequent along this cliff and many others in Tenerife, especially on the northern slope. Narciso Pérez recalls that at that time they proceeded with a provisional closure and ordered emergency works to stabilise the slope.
The intention was to decree reopening once those works were completed, but a “major inconvenience” arose, as the Environment councillor recalls: “The very company specialising in the work warned that there was a significant instability in the cliff and that the risk of new landslides would remain. We then met with the Cabildo and the Government of Canary Islands. It was decided to commission a thorough geological study to determine the actions to be undertaken to ensure full safety.”.
The Town Hall of La Orotava is awaiting the results of that study, commissioned by the Cabildo, to have a precise diagnosis that will allow them to know what can be done. “We are the first interested in reopening Los Patos, but we will not do it until we have the utmost guarantees for those who come to the beach, as the safety of people is our priority,” emphasizes Narciso Pérez, who reminds that in recent months there have been new landslides in the area.
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