The councilor for Urban Planning, Coasts, Heritage, Accessibility, Finance and Contracting of the Tacoronte City Hallthe socialist Tarsis Morales, is clear that the municipality “needs to modify its General Planning Plan (PGO)”, which has currently become an obstacle to local development “because it was prepared with criteria from the end of the 90s of the 20th century”. In his opinion, he “is very outdated” and that is why he considers that it is necessary to consider “a profound review, but agreed with the people.”
Morales understands that in the current political situation this change cannot be addressed, which he places as “a priority” for the corporation for the next term. «The last modification that was made to the local planning was not done as it should have been done and now we are faced with the need to transform the municipality urbanistically in order to be able to recover land, build houses, create new roads and make commercial areas more attractive», he points.
“Our PGO it meets criteria from 25 years ago, so no matter how much, for example, it is invested in promoting local commerce, if we do not have more attractive and comfortable spaces, with more pedestrian areas, everything is much more difficult, “he laments. With this review of the PGO, Morales hopes to resolve key issues, such as the relocation of the bus station, conflicts over the location of gas stations or, in the long term, the construction of a new headquarters for the farmer’s market, “with parking, space for offices and better services.
The 2009 recall
Tarsis Morales believes that “a municipality without an orderly urban transformation is not going anywhere.” And to make that goal a reality, it is necessary to reopen the debate on the PGO. In 2009, after months of controversy, protests and political discrepancies, the Tacorontero Plenary unanimously revoked the initial approval of the new PGO and the process came to a standstill.
At present, some problems try to be solved with punctual revisions or modifications of the planning, “but it is insufficient, since Tacoronte it needs that roadmap that marks what needs to be done in the medium and long term. For example, on the coast, which is a jewel and should be the engine of our development in the coming years.” Tarsis Morales has worked in this mandate to try to unblock a project to improve the coastline “stuck for years with Costas and the Cabildo de Tenerife.” For the mayor of Urbanism, “it is necessary to resolve all the issues that prevent the execution of the Mesa del Mar wastewater treatment network project and its connection with the Valle Guerra treatment plant, as well as the coastal walk between El Pris and Mesa del Mar». This promenade would serve to generate a very attractive space for residents and visitors, in addition to locating the aforementioned network and the pumping stations necessary to carry the wastewater from Mesa del Mar to El Pris and from there to the regional infrastructure of Valle Guerra, on The lagoon.
the old campsite
“The coast of Tacoronte has a lot of potential to generate economic and tourist activity, so it can be one of our main engines,” says the mayor of Urbanism. Although he understands the attractiveness that the recovery of the old campsite on Playa de la Arena can generate, Morales advocates “first resolving safety issues and everything that has to do with revising the system of meshes and protection barriers for the embankment located behind the beach.
“Currently, a report is being written on the situation of the protection systems against landslides in this area of La Arena beach and that will allow us to start prioritizing the most urgent and important actions. The main thing is to guarantee safety and, when we have achieved it, we will address the issue of the campsite, which is a very interesting facility to develop and which has aroused a lot of interest among potential investors”, Morales advances.
The internal crisis of the PSOE
Tarsis Morales acknowledges that the internal crisis of the PSOE, which was settled with the expulsion of Carlos Medina and Sandra Ramos, now unassigned mayors, “has made the work of the government difficult” and, in particular, of the Socialist Municipal Group, which passed from having five councilors with government responsibilities to only three. Amid the noise, Morales preferred to “keep calm and not go out to respond to the media,” and now hopes that “the PSOE situation in Tacoronte will soon normalize,” coordinated by a manager. The reduction in the number of mayors made it necessary to restructure the areas and cede the Works and Services area to Nueva Canarias “for a matter of logic, since it was not about hoarding for the sake of hoarding,” says Morales. Currently, the three socialist mayors share a dozen areas: Julio Navarro is in charge of Security, Mobility and Cemeteries; Sandra Izquierdo, Culture, Festivals and Commerce, and Tarsis Morales is in charge of Urban Planning, Coasts, Heritage, Accessibility, Contracting and Finance. Regarding the latter, which he assumed just three months ago, Morales highlights that with the incorporation of a new controller, work is being done “on new measures and procedures to reduce the high average payment period.”
