The Circle of Entrepreneurs and Professionals of the South of Tenerife (CEST) affirmed this Thursday that public administrations and Tenerife society must be “aware of the risk” that the paralysis of projects, such as the one that recently occurred in Puertito de Adeje, may entail. time to attract investment to the island. It should be noted that the Island Council stopped the works after a complaint filed by the Tegüico Patrimonial Association, which enjoys great prestige, upon detecting that the works were being carried out in a space with archaeological remains and in the absence of a patrimonial study or a Charter Archaeological.
For the business association, this type of decision on projects that, after many years of processing and inspection, “have the necessary permits and licenses, can generate business mistrust and serious uncertainty.” However, the Cabildo de Tenerife confirmed in a statement that the works were stopped due to the lack of a study on heritage, a study that the Podemos political party in the Adeje City Council has not been able to access either, after requesting it by entry registration and in an urgent motion, rejected by the municipal plenary.
From the Board of Directors of the CEST they consider that generating this sensation among the business community interested in investing in Tenerife “can have negative consequences for the development of the island and the generation of wealth”. “Paralyzing projects like this causes doubts for those who seek to establish their businesses here, who will choose to choose similar territories, which are direct competitors and offer greater peace of mind and security regarding investment,” they explain.
Along these lines, they indicate that “the work of the administrations has already been done” and the reality reflected in the technical assessments cannot be “denied”.
“We will never be able to position Tenerife as a preferred destination for investors if a project that complies with current legislation and has technical, urban and environmental impact reports from the different administrations can be paralyzed at any time”, they explain from the CEST .
Thus, they point out that “the effort to promote tax incentives in the Canary Islands is of little use if stones are put in the way of the main investments that, in addition, will serve to improve the environment.”
The project accumulates three complaints for damage to the environment
It was the complaint filed by the Tegüico Heritage Association with the Island Corporation that led to the stoppage of the works by the Cabildo de Tenerife. The entity, which enjoys great prestige and has collaborated in other heritage projects with public institutions, was the one that carried out an inspection on May 24, discovering that in the place where the works were carried out, traces of guanches. This, together with the process of reviewing the project documentation that the Cabildo was already carrying out, led to the stoppage of the works. In addition, it has been verified that the patrimonial study is not available, a document that the promoting entity had presented to the Government of the Canary Islands.
On the other hand, the environmental association Salvar La Tejita filed another complaint a few days ago with the Canary Islands Government Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment alleging that the works to urbanize Puertito de Armeñime are causing irreparable damage to the protected and threatened species that are in the area. The Cuna del Alma project will be built bordering a Site of Scientific Interest (SIC) and even, according to the plans released by the promoters themselves, will invade a part of it with an orchard ecological of 20,000 square meters. In addition, this coast is part of the Teno – Rasca Special Conservation Area (ZEC), a place where the only Whale Sanctuary in the European Union is located.
Images shared on social networks in which the destruction of some protected plant species can be seen encouraged the complaint. In them you can see a crane uprooting numerous cacti, which end up piled dead in mountains in an attempt to free the place where this luxury tourism macroproject is being built from obstacles.
Such was the controversy generated by these images that this Friday, in the plenary session of the Cabildo de Tenerife, they asked about the authorization of Cuna del Alma to eliminate the cardones in this way. The Minister of the Natural Environment, Isabel García Hernández, replied that “they are taking them to nurseries.” However, not all the specimens will suffer that fate, as the photographs show, since some are totally destroyed, impossible to recover.
The third complaint was filed this weekend by an individual before the Civil Guard upon detecting that work was being done on the site over the weekend. According to municipal ordinances, the execution of large works on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays is prohibited. “We don’t know if the Civil Guard finally showed up at the site to stop the work,” environmentalist Adrián Flores told CanariasNow.
A luxury project for a few
It should be remembered that the objective of this project, financed by two Belgian families, is to convert the population center free of mass tourism (of the few that remain in the south of the island) into a benchmark of luxury, an oasis for the most privileged which will extend over 437,000 square meters along the coast. It is a space that will house up to 420 luxury homes, a hotel, swimming pools, restaurants, a jetty and other buildings that, in short, are being built very close to the Caleta de Adeje Protected Natural Area, declared a Site of Scientific Interest for its landscape relevance. It is not uncommon, therefore, that for many these works are seen as a direct attack on their landscape, their heritage and the environment, despite the fact that the management has reiterated on numerous occasions that it is a “sustainable” project. .
The ambitious plan was launched eight years ago, although it was on May 5 when the first stone was laid, in a symbolic act attended by the mayor of Adeje, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga; the vice president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Berta Pérez; the investors, Sofie Vandermarliere, from the investment management holding company GT & Co, and David Van Biervliet, representing Fivanco; the real estate developer co-CEO, Filip Hoste; the co-CEO technical director, Andrés Muñoz de Dios; and Remo Masala, creative director.
More mobilizations
The environmentalist has also advanced that the group that defends the stoppage of the works, among them several environmental associations, are already preparing more mobilizations. He assures that this week the place, date and time for the next protest will be known. “We want to do more things with the aim of trying to stop the works and show the rejection of the population, already quite widespread.”
The first of the assemblies called by those who reject the project brought together more than half a thousand people, who expressed their rejection of the urbanization of this enclave, which will also mean the transformation of the small population center of some 20 houses located there. In 2019, the City Council changed the land use of these homes from residential to commercial through a partial plan that only affected this place and Caleta de Adeje, another very close coastal town.
There is also the circumstance that for a few years the Puertito has suffered a notable decrease in its cleaning and maintenance services, among others, becoming a place with a large amount of accumulated garbage, as well as shacks and other irregular constructions, something that contrasts with the enormous value of its landscape and nature. The state of abandonment in which the town and its surroundings are found has precisely been used as an argument to defend the urban project, stating that it will improve the environment.
What is not contemplated in the project, at least not in the information published by the promoters, is the presence of public beach services, such as showers, toilets, car parks, public transport stops, lifeguard stands, etc., which which suggests that access to this beach will be almost exclusive for the clients of the tourist complex.
