The main budget increases are allocated to the areas of Housing, Social Services, Cleaning and Public Lighting.
The plenary session approves entrusting the Government of the Canary Islands with the drafting of the PMM for Maspalomas, which will allow for the promotion of private investment, the creation of employment and the combination of residential and tourist uses.
The San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council has initially approved its budget for 2025, with a total allocation of 102.525.376 euros, which represents an increase of 2024 euros compared to 4.025.000. During the extraordinary plenary session in December, the Councillor for Economy and Finance, Alexis Moreno, highlighted the main modifications that will be made for 2025, highlighting the investment, in the area of Housing, of 120.000 euros for Aid to Improve Accessibility, an allocation that the council is providing for the first time to meet the demand of the different urbanisations in the municipality for the creation of ramps and installation of lifts in the communities that request the subsidy. In addition, the council headed by Lucía Jiménez will continue to support Rental Aid, allocating 200.000 euros for the new call for applications in 2025.
On the other hand, the funds for Social Services are increased to 305.000 euros; with these, the subsidies to NGOs are consolidated in initial credits. The beneficiaries of this allocation will be Avanza Sur, Ciudad San Juan de Dios, the Alejandro Da Silva Foundation Against Leukemia, the Spanish Association Against Cancer, the Association for People with Functional Diversity (Aspade), the Canarian Social Association Kilometers for a Smile, the Canarian Foundation Pequeño Valiente, the Karuna Maspalomas Charity Association and the Association 'Up2You'. In attention to the 'Homeless' people, the area directed by Dimas Sarmiento has budgeted 100.000 euros to be agreed with the Social Work for Reception and Development (OSDAD), a foundation that works for the labour reintegration, giving tools, training and shelter to the most vulnerable people, thus offering an opportunity to escape their situation of poverty and social exclusion.
In order to strengthen the Cleaning team and incorporate more machinery, the budget for Street Cleaning and Waste Collection is increased by 957.799 euros; and 1.371.413 euros are provided to improve the Selective Collection service, whose contract has expired since 2019 and which the Cleaning department hopes to be able to award in the first quarter of 2025. In Celebrations and Events, an amount of 180.000 euros is added to the 2024 euros budgeted in 120.000, with which it is intended to promote neighborhood festivals. In Citizen Participation, a section is created for Professional Associations of the municipality and/or Neighborhood Associations with 50.000 euros. Regarding the Public Lighting area, the section for Christmas lighting is increased by 300.000 euros.
For its part, Urbanismo will allocate 150.000 euros to reach an agreement with the public company Gestur to put the concessions of public premises out to tender; and it will allocate 100.000 euros to the Modernisation and Improvement Plan (PMM) of Maspalomas Costa Canaria.
In the area of Sports, 463.831,07 euros are allocated for general administration and 472.293,22 euros for the promotion and development of sport. In Public Lighting, 4.461.073,74 euros are allocated, of which 3.338.806,28 euros correspond to the supply of electricity and 600.000 euros to work carried out by other companies. For Parks and Gardens, the total budget amounts to 5.660.044,52 euros, including 248.000 euros for the supply of water and 120.000 euros for technical studies. In Security and Emergencies, 8.524.324,51 euros have been allocated, with items destined to the adaptation of facilities such as the Local Police Station and the improvement of equipment.
With the proposed modifications, the governing group finally approved the budget for 2025, which is distributed as follows: Basic Public Services receive the largest allocation, with 56.806.756,32 euros allocated to areas such as Citizen Security and Mobility, Housing and Urban Planning, Community Well-being and the Environment, demonstrating the council's commitment to the security, sustainability and quality of life of its residents. In addition, 8.705.765,35 euros are allocated to Social Protection and Promotion, highlighting Social Services and Employment Promotion, and 14.769.662,36 euros to the Production of Preferential Public Goods, where the items for Education, Culture and Sport stand out, together with a significant investment in Health.
In the economic sphere, the budget includes 1.377.950,01 euros to promote key sectors such as commerce, tourism, SMEs and public transport, with the aim of strengthening the business fabric and improving mobility in the municipality. 20.864.865,96 euros have also been set aside to guarantee the proper functioning of the administration, including the governing bodies, general services and financial and tax management. This budget reflects the City Council's commitment to balanced, sustainable and people-centred development, ensuring efficient management aimed at meeting the priority needs of the residents of San Bartolomé de Tirajana.
Maspalomas Costa Canaria Modernization and Improvement Plan
In the last point of the Agenda, it was approved to entrust the Territorial Policy Department of the Government of the Canary Islands with the drafting of the Plan for Modernisation, Improvement and Increase of Competitiveness of Maspalomas-Costa Canaria, which will cost 969.943 euros, of which 290.000 will be provided by the City Council and 679.943 will come from the Government of the Canary Islands. The objective of this milestone, as explained in the file by the Councillor for Urban Planning and First Deputy Mayor, Alejandro Marichal, is that the last step is taken for the drafting of the regulatory framework that will allow, among other aspects, to promote the renovation of obsolete shopping centres; to encourage the reform of accommodation and commercial infrastructures through urban incentives such as the increase in building capacity or the regulation of open spaces on plots. It will also expand the permitted uses of commercial plots to make them compatible with accommodation, social-health and sports activities, among others. It is also proposed to encourage the specialization of plots to combine residential and tourist uses, promoting a more balanced development adapted to current needs.
The preparation of the PMM, Marichal points out, “not only seeks to strengthen the competitiveness of Maspalomas Costa Canaria and Gran Canaria as tourist destinations, but also to encourage private investment, generate employment and make land available for economic activities demanded by residents, business owners and visitors.”
