Canarian High Court annuls Arona’s PGO

[Janet]

When I first posted about Arona's PGO nearly two years ago, its title was "Great plans for huge expansion of Los Cristianos as Arona at last approves PGO". Today, the post could easily be appended to the Administrative Chaos in Arona item, and I've had to change the title to reflect the fact that the Canarian High Court has thrown out Arona's PGO, its municipal planning scheme, because land designations were approved without the required environmental reports. The controversial areas are in the Cabo Blanco and Buzanada areas, but stretch to Valle San Lorenzo too, and call into question all plans for development in the municipality, including the El Mojón area.

The judgment throws Arona's municipal planning into confusion, not least because it has taken the Ayuntamiento years even to reach this stage of "approval" for land designations which clearly should never have been given in the first place – and which, according to AquiSur, is all bound up with the various elements of the Caso Arona (or various Casos Arona) even resulted in death threats against critics. As of yesterday, mayor Niño was denying all knowledge of the judgment, saying he had not yet been notified, but it is now clear that the Court's ruling was given on 4 October. Sr Niño said that if it were true, however, then one had to "remain positive", but that until he heard from the Court directly he couldn't possibly comment. Meanwhile he has called an emergency committee to discuss the "crisis of government in Arona" ... JA

[Janet]

If anyone fancies working their way through THIS lot, they're a better man than me. Corrupt useless bastards ... CUB, will be my new acronym ...

[Guanche]

Well if we take into consideration the three years the two men got for being on a picket line. The virtual 'Get out of jail free' card a member of the Royal family just got. The never ending story of the 'PP' scandal, and all the never ending scandals in Spain today. This shower from Arona will get a Euro from the poor box and a pat on the head.

[Janet]

The Canarian Supreme Court has now confirmed the High Court's judgment on Arona's PGO, and has annulled the general municipal plans on the grounds of eight failures related to the processing and management of the territorial planning which started in 1997. The judgment confirmed the denuncias made by Ciudadanos por Arona councillor José Antonio Reveron and lawyer Felipe Campos, and in devastating fashion confirmed most of the arguments that Arona's PGO was invalid because of "planning irregularities", illegal land reclassifications, and corruption.

The case is, of course, closely linked to ongoing hearings known collectively as Caso Arona which is now in court: the vast majority of the Coalición Canaria ruling group have been indicted, including ex-mayor  Reveron – who had to be forced out of office because of his own corruption proceedings – and current mayor Niño. Some seventeen charges are finally about to start their hearings, and it is now far from impossible that some prison sentences might be handed down.

With regard specifically to where this latest judgment leaves the PGO, however, the answer is that it is in legal limbo, governed by plans that were last valid in 1987. The council has yet to comment on the judgment. JA