SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, January 26. (EUROPA PRESS) –
On Friday, the Cabildo of Tenerife has reached an agreement to urge the Government of the Canary Islands to proceed with the modification of urban planning instruments in order to achieve the goals set out in the ‘Santa Cruz 2030 Plan’.
The plenary session has given the green light to a motion from CC, PP and Vox urging the Government of the Canary Islands to initiate the process – under article 168 of Law 4/2017, of July 13, on Land and Protected Natural Spaces of the Canary Islands (LSENPC)– to suspend the planning instruments that affect the area occupied by the Refinery. The purpose is to create a unified plan that aligns with the objectives of the ‘Plan Santa Cruz Verde 2030’, and to coordinate the powers and interests of all administrations and stakeholders involved.
The motion also suggests processing “the modification of the PIOT in the Refinery’s area, to incorporate strategic and insular planning derived from post-suspension planning instruments. This will facilitate the realization of the expansion objectives of the island’s capital from a territorial and ecological transitional perspective.”
Additionally, the Cabildo’s Plenary Session requests “initiating procedures for any other necessary action in urban and territorial planning instruments, as well as studying the legal procedures to be carried out between public administrations and the Cepsa company.”
Furthermore, they propose planning actions at the territorial level based on sustainability and environmental energy efficiency criteria.
The goal of collaboration between both parties is to revitalize the land currently occupied by the Refinery. This area, approximately 570,000 square meters in size, is located at the southeast entrance to Santa Cruz along the sea and port front. The aim is to promote urban renewal, change its current industrial usage, and achieve objectives such as improving sea access, enhancing mobility, increasing public facilities, developing new infrastructures, intervening in the technological and economic realms, and fortifying energy sustainability.
“The execution of the project offers Santa Cruz de Tenerife the opportunity to transform the city by converting an oil refinery into a new urban green space through the development of public and private facilities, new green areas, sustainable environmental policies, economic revitalization, and job creation,” highlights the motion ratified by the island’s plenary session, including a statement from the Cabildo.
In order to execute the ‘Santa Cruz Verde 2030 Plan’, it is essential to define the necessary planning instruments and legal forms of collaboration between the various public administrations and the Cepsa company.
The General Urban Planning Plan (PGOU) of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, approved in January 1992, acknowledges the overall industrial use of the land occupied by the Refinery. However, the plan also introduces the objective to “anticipate the future evolution of the oil industry towards other activities more compatible with its urban setting.”
These provisions remain in the Basic Adaptation of the PGOU-92, approved in 2005, after the implementation of the autonomous territory law from 1999, later transformed into the Consolidated Text of the Territorial Planning and Planning Laws. Natural Spaces of the Canary Islands, approved by Decree 1/2000, (TRLOTENC), a planning document in force when the PGO was declared null and void.
The Tenerife Island Planning Plan (PIOT) designates the area where the Refinery is located as an insular industrial estate, thus, “resolving the sectoral issues of other territorial powers such as ports, coasts, roads and guided transport and hydrological infrastructures” becomes necessary.”
