Alejandro Marichal: “This concession had been blocked since 2016. Our responsibility is to defend the general interest, recover public spaces and ensure that they are used for their intended purpose.”
Davinia Ramírez: “Resolving the concession is a necessary step to regain effective control of the space, guarantee its conservation, and open a new stage that will allow us to define its future.”
The San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council will debate the resolution of the administrative concession contract for the execution, conservation, maintenance and operation of the public square, bar-restaurant, music kiosk and other complementary facilities of the European Park, in the El Veril urbanization, currently granted to the entity Meeting Point Hotelmanagement (Canaries), SL
The proposal submitted to the Plenary is based on the repeated non-compliance with the essential obligations of the concession contract, in particular the failure to present the project for conditioning and operation of the facilities, despite being expressly obliged to do so by plenary agreement of March 4, 2016 and by the formal request notified in January 2022.
According to the administrative file, the concession was originally awarded in 1987 for the creation and operation of a public space with cultural, recreational, and restaurant uses, with the express obligation to carry out the works, maintain the facilities, and guarantee their continued operation. Over the decades, the concession has undergone various changes in ownership and modifications, although the City Council has always maintained as its central focus the defense of the public interest and the effective recovery of the space.
In 2016, the City Council agreed to extend the concession period and grant the concessionaire additional time to rehabilitate and put the facilities into operation, stipulating the submission of a technical refurbishment project as an essential condition. However, this obligation was not met, despite municipal demands, as the company was fully aware of the physical and legal condition of the property when it assumed the concession.
The most recent municipal technical reports also confirm that the prolonged inactivity has led to a situation of abandonment and deterioration incompatible with the intended public use, generating unacceptable harm to the general interest and to the urban environment of El Veril.
The First Deputy Mayor, Alejandro Marichal, emphasizes that “the City Council cannot turn a blind eye when a public concession remains blocked for years without the contractual obligations being met. Our responsibility is to defend the public interest, reclaim public spaces, and ensure they are used for their intended purpose.” Marichal adds that “this procedure is neither improvised nor arbitrary. It is supported by technical, legal, and intervention reports, and responds to an objective reality: the concession has not been implemented, and the project was never submitted, despite the deadlines and warnings.”
For her part, the Councillor for Urban Planning and Public Heritage, Davinia Ramírez, emphasizes that “the file contains a very clear sequence of municipal actions, formal requirements, and opportunities given to the concessionaire that were not heeded. At this point, the City Council must act with firmness and legal certainty.”
Ramírez points out that “resolving the concession is a necessary step to regain effective control of the space, guarantee its conservation and open a new stage that allows defining its future according to the public interest and the real needs of the environment.”
The proposal submitted to the Plenary also contemplates the termination of the concessionaire's right to occupy and operate the property, the requirement to hand over and return the space within one month and, in case of non-compliance, the recovery of possession through administrative means.
With this decision, the Department of Urban Planning and Heritage continues its objective of unblocking inherited situations, organizing public assets and laying the foundations for the recovery and reactivation of strategic spaces in the municipality.
