The Tenerife Coastal Authority has levied a new penalty on the Arona City Council for organising a beach volleyball tournament last August at Los Cristianos beach without the necessary permissions. The fine totals 24,000 euros and is justified by the establishment of two playing courts, complete with stands and a music kiosk. However, a period has been allotted for the local government (PP-CC-Más por Arona) to submit any necessary appeals.
The notification from the Coastal Authority, which is part of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, was received by the council on August 22. The courts measured 26 metres in width by 48 metres in length, while the musical area covered two square metres, summing up to a total of 1,200 square metres allocated for this event. As has been previously observed with sun loungers, umbrellas, and other sporting equipment in this cove and three others, Costas has served a penalty of 60,000 euros which the municipal government has appealed. In this instance, the alleged breach pertains to article 91 (letter a) of Law 22/1998 on Coasts and 192 (letter a) of its regulations.
The complaint was filed on August 18 after verifying what the Service had authorised on Los Cristianos beach, granting a period of 15 days to file an appeal. The local government has yet to confirm whether it has submitted the appeals it is entitled to, although indications suggest that, similar to the situation with the sun loungers and the other elements linked to the previous fine, it has done so and awaits a response from Costas. The government team asserts that it submitted the necessary documentation for the authorisation of sun loungers, courts, umbrellas and additional recreational elements. However, Costas has not responded due to the transfer processes to the Canary Islands, which is complicating matters and adversely affecting many municipalities regarding these permits and other issues.
This penalty of 24,000 euros is consequently added to a previous 60,000 euro fine imposed for similar unauthorised activities on the same beach at Los Cristianos, as well as Las Vistas, Playa Honda, and Charco del Marqués. In total, the area impacted by these services across the four beaches reached 16,926 square metres. In the case of Las Vistas, the sanction was related to the 1,200 sun loungers set up, the 600 umbrellas, eight scooters, four paddle surf boards, and four courts spanning 250 square metres each, in addition to two beach tennis courts of identical dimensions. Overall, the area occupied by these services on the primary beach of Los Cristianos was 11,212 square metres.
Throughout its term, the Arona government has faced various contentious matters, including investigations by the Civil Guard into local officials for the alleged misuse of materials in the Cultural sector or the purported misappropriation of cash by a municipal employee from fines and tax collections. There are also ongoing resolutions from the Environment Agency and new complaints regarding the Guaza industrial warehouse, all of which have been discussed in municipal plenary sessions and are expected to remain pertinent in the coming months.
