Owners’ associations and private homeowners have reaped the benefits of over two million euros in grants from the Programme to Tackle Rural Depopulation, part of the Canary Islands Government’s Housing Plan 2020-2025.
This funding has been utilised for various projects, including the *stabilisation works* on the slopes at Colón Avenue and Pizarro Street in Radazul Bajo, as well as to enhance the living conditions for individual homeowners whose residences, “many of which are quite old,” faced accessibility challenges or lacked basic services.
Costly Works
Recently, the mayor of El Rosario, Gil Scholastic, along with the director of the Canarian Housing Institute (Icavi), Antonio Ortega, visited the ongoing security works on the slopes of Columbus Avenue to review the impact of this funding line established by the Canary Islands Government through the Canarian Housing Institute, along with the agreement signed with the Canarian Federation of Municipalities (Fecam), which represents approximately 2,000 residents in El Rosario.
The local council leader, Scholastic Gil, regarded these subsidies as “very positive,” allowing communities to undertake security works that, “without any assistance, would be exceedingly difficult to manage independently.”
He further noted: “These are the most critical projects financed by this ICAVI initiative as they address potential safety issues, as has already occurred in some communities, while also alleviating precarious living situations in homes throughout other parts of the municipality.”
Maximising the Agreement
Additionally, the ICAVI director, Antonio Ortega, highlighted that the Institute is “very pleased with how the residents of El Rosario have made use of the agreement set between the Canary Islands Government and Fecam to improve safety and habitation standards in homes that genuinely require assistance in municipalities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants.”
The first deputy mayor and Councillor for Social Action, Fatima Gutiérrez, along with the mayor of Works and Urbanism, Juan Jesús del Rosario, municipal technicians, and the presidents of the communities of Frigate and Brilliance, were also present, representing the eight beneficiary communities.
The Works
Regarding the slope stabilisation efforts, these actions will secure rock walls up to 70 metres in height to prevent potential landslides that could threaten adjacent buildings.
Executed by specialists in vertical works, these improvements involve the installation of a new triple torsion mesh reinforced with galvanised steel cables, as stated by the local council in a communication.
The programme targeting rural depopulation subsidises initiatives related to housing, such as rehabilitation or adaptation of dwellings to meet minimum habitability standards, energy consumption savings, structural enhancements, and, ultimately, any works necessary to ensure property safety and adequate maintenance.
