The Cabildo has validated its project for installing vehicle charging stations in the Valle de Güímar Industrial Polygon, despite the negative technical report from the Arafo City Council. The Insular Government Council resolved this disagreement “considering the public interest it serves,” taking into account the decision of the Territorial Planning Administrative Service.
Initiated by the Cabildo through the Insular Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Primary Sector, and Animal Welfare, this initiative involves the installation of four charging stations for electric vehicles in the car park adjacent to block C of the Güímar Valley Industrial Polygon, located in the municipality of Arafo, next to the La Rotonda café. The plan also includes a transformation station near the parking area, which will supply electric power to the charging points. This initiative is part of the collaboration agreement signed on 10 July 2024 between the Insular Cabildo and the municipalities of Candelaria, Arafo, and Güímar to execute an immediate action programme within the polygon.
The Arafo City Council issued a mandatory technical report stating that the project is situated on urban land designated for infrastructure, specifically for roadway. There, it will be part of the transformation centre and some underground conduits. Additionally, these conduits and charging points also impact urban land intended for civic-commercial buildings.
Concerning the transformation centre, a structure measuring 6.08 metres in length and 2.38 metres in depth, with a height exceeding 2.58 metres, results in a built area of 14.47 square metres. The General Planning Plan of Arafo specifies that “no apparent building action will be permitted.” Given that it does not conform to the regulations outlined in the PGO, the technical report concludes that “the section of the transformation centre situated in the infrastructure zone is not authorisable.”
Additionally, another part of this facility “is located in an area free of building regulations.” Furthermore, the garden and parking area in front of the west facade of existing buildings adjacent to the road alignments “are privately owned, which means the promoter must obtain the requisite permission for their use.”
A particularly significant point in the negative report from the City of Arafo notes that two roads in the Industrial Polygon Valle de Güímar are affected, stating that “the establishment of the proposed transformation centre is not authorised, as it is incompatible with the applicable urban planning regulations.”
To Amend the Planning
The Technical Territorial Planning Service counters the argument presented by the Arafo Council, confirming that municipal planning must adapt to new realities. It asserts that “the implementation of the project serves unquestionable public interest” and that “to achieve its goals, the action must be situated in the proposed location, which entails contravening the urban planning provisions of Arafo, with no other viable alternatives.” The transformation centre is slated for a small residual area south of the parking lot, situated between that area, block C, and the road bordering it. According to the island service’s report, this space, in the established reality, does not belong to the block but to the public land comprising the road and car park.
The Cabildo de Tenerife maintains that this project constitutes public works and, as such, does not require a licence or prior notification for its construction, building, or land use.
The City of Arafo has the option to file an administrative contentious appeal against this Insular Governing Council.
