The Insular Historical Heritage Area considers that the project to provide castillo street shadow negatively affects this section of the Historic Site of Old Santa Cruz, so its initial assessment of this project promoted by the capital’s City Council is unfavorable. However, despite this conclusion, he invites the Consistory to carry out a test, as a “pilot project”, on a section of the road, the one between Valentín Sanz and Teobaldo Power, to confirm, or not, his initial impression after the analysis of the project, justifying this decision in that the infographics that accompany it could generate a distorted image of the final result. For this reason, it grants the City Council a conditional authorization for the placement of the awnings in this section, although it makes it clear that if the test “confirms the initial assessment and it is estimated that the results are not those desired in relation to the preservation of the values assets of the historic complex, the elements installed will be removed immediately within three weeks.
From the Santa Cruz City Council, the Town Planning councilor and head of the Downtown-Ifara District that is promoting this project, Guillermo Díaz Guerra, expressed his perplexity at the formula chosen by the Cabildo to, in practice, force them to redo the project. “They are asking us for a test to see how it looks, and if they don’t like it, we have to remove them. And then, what do I tell the supplier? What do I do next with the awnings? It is absurd”, lamented the mayor, who did not hesitate to criticize the Cabildo in this area, stating that “at times like this is when I think that the Cabildo is superfluous when giving its opinion on Santa Cruz. The Heritage Law must be changed or its functions restricted to those of supporting municipalities that truly need it”. Despite everything, the mayor advances that he will consult with Intervention to see if a test can be done, as requested by the Cabildo.
inconvenient
The main drawback of the Insular Historical Heritage Area, as can be read in the report that has already been sent to the City Council, has to do with the location of the mesh, which is placed between the ground floor and the first floor of the different buildings in each sector: “This location entails the partial concealment of the buildings that delimit the street, among them those that have a singular patrimonial interest”. According to the Cabildo, “the upper heights of the buildings are visualized more clearly in the width of the street, which would lose its perspective, and not only from bottom to top.”
Thus, “therefore, there could be a drastic reduction in the perception of significant elements of the Historical Complex in the periods of installation of the mesh, which would have negative repercussions on the historical image of the Complex itself.”
The report even suggests that if the awnings were placed on top of the buildings, as has been done in other cities, that inconvenience could be solved, as well as that the fabrics should be lighter. They also consider that the installation, as planned, supposes “the loss of the vanishing point and the vision of the sea from the upper part of Calle Castillo in an easterly direction.”
