On January 14, the Section E of the Contentious-Administrative Court number 3 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife upheld the ruling it issued on June 13, 2024, which annulled the order for suspension and construction seal of the Cultural and Commercial Center Arts Lifestyle & Shopping Tenerife. This also rescinded the fine of 190,000 euros that was levied on November 27 and December 9, 2020, by the City of Arona, under the authority of the former mayor, José Julián Mena.
Judge Pablo David Sánchez clarified in the management diligence that the resolution “is definitive once the legally established deadlines for filing appeals have passed.” Consequently, the Arona City Council must revoke the seal and halt the construction works, as the ruling in favour of the developer, Melisofi Consulting, has become final.
The City Council of Arona had previously halted, obstructed, and penalised the developer on two occasions for allegedly conducting urban development activities improperly, encroaching on municipal and state land.
In defence of the Arts Cultural and Commercial Center, the developer presented two favourable technical and sectoral reports, along with notarial documentation of inspections conducted by Arona’s technicians, asserting that the works for which it was penalised “correspond to those that the administration itself mandated be restored”. This was merely about the works necessary to complete filling in the basement of the property, “adhering to the resolutions for restoration and legal rectification” required by the City Council itself.
In her ruling of June 13, 2024, Judge Cristina Escamilla rejected the Arona City Council’s request to declare the developer’s appeal inadmissible, labelling it as “acts of mere procedure” not subject to appeal. She affirmed the judgement from the Court of the Contentious Administrative number 4, issued on November 11, 2023 (also favourable to ARTS), therefore accepting the appeal lodged by Melisofi Consulting SL and imposing 1,500 euros in procedural costs on the municipal administration.
The Arts Lifestyle & Shopping Tenerife Shopping Center is situated on the Francisco Andrade Fumero Paseo in Playa de las Américas (Arona). It has remained closed for over six years, pending reform, despite having all necessary municipal and sectoral technical reports in its favour for several years.
