Dimas Sarmiento: "We have requested a grant of almost 700.000 euros to draft the technical project and reinforced our request for its inclusion in the Third Social and Health Infrastructure Plan."
Alejandro Marichal: “We continue to fight for a Senior Residence in the municipality. It's a necessity and a pending debt to those who have given everything for this land. We won't stop until we see it built.”
The San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council's Department for the Elderly has taken another firm step in its commitment to caring for the municipality's senior citizens. At the municipal plenary session held in March, it unanimously approved a request from the Gran Canaria Island Council for a grant of €699.309,08 to draft the technical project for the construction of a Senior Residence. This amount, explained the councilor for the area, Dimas Sarmiento, "would cover all the preliminary studies, the technical report, the plans, and the documentation necessary for the subsequent tendering of the project."
Furthermore, the plenary agreement urges the Gran Canaria Island Council to include the municipality in the Third Socio-Healthcare Infrastructure Plan, in order to guarantee the institutional and financial support necessary to implement this essential infrastructure.
For this reason, the Councilor for the Mayor, Dimas Sarmiento, and the First Deputy Mayor, Alejandro Marichal, met with Isabel Mena, the Minister for Social Welfare, Equality, Children, and Families of the Gran Canaria Island Council, to request a grant for the project. Although the Council has recognized the importance of the initiative, there is currently no specific budget allocation available to provide this funding. However, the First Deputy Mayor announced, "we are still working to achieve this goal and are going to ask the President of the Island Council to take charge of this initial investment, which is key to being in a position to carry out the project as soon as the necessary funds are available."
Despite not receiving a positive response regarding the drafting of the project, the meeting with the Regional Ministry did result in significant progress in social and healthcare matters. The Regional Ministry has expressed its willingness to fund the construction of the Aldea Blanca Alzheimer's Center, which will be temporarily opened to accommodate people cared for at the San Fernando center during the renovation of that building, a project they would also contribute to. The possibility of funding the care service at the municipality's Day Centers on weekends has also been opened, an important step toward more comprehensive and continuous care.
![[Img # 19719]](https://maspalomas24h.com/upload/images/04_2025/4563_img_0528.jpeg)
This new push is part of a long process initiated by the current governing group at the beginning of the term, when it decided to allocate €34 million of municipal funds to the construction of the residence. This strategic decision was made before the spending ceiling came into effect, to ensure its financial viability and not rely exclusively on the Council's speedy implementation.
Thus, in December 2023, a budget amendment was approved allowing those funds to be transferred to the Mancomunidad de Medianías (Mancommunity of Medianías), with the aim of accelerating the execution of the residence. However, objections filed by Nueva Canarias blocked this option, temporarily thwarting the project's progress.
Faced with this situation, the Department for the Elderly has resumed the original institutional approach, urging the competent body—the Gran Canaria Island Council—to assume leadership of the project. To this end, a phased strategy has been developed: first, secure funding for the technical project; second, guarantee the inclusion of San Bartolomé de Tirajana in the island plans; and finally, be prepared to put out to tender and execute the residence as soon as funding becomes available. “We continue to fight for a Senior Residence in our municipality. It is an urgent need and an outstanding debt to those who have given everything for this land. We will not stop until we see it built,” stated Alejandro Marichal after his meeting with the Department.
The Department of the Mayor's Office emphasizes that "this project is a priority, cross-cutting, and unanimously supported by all political forces in the municipality, which reinforces its legitimacy and urgency," Sarmiento concluded.
