Pedro Pablo Monzón Blanco, technical planning director of the Gran Canaria Cabildo and head of the revision of the Island Spatial Planning Plan (PIO-GC), has stated his "deep disagreement" with the first ruling by the TSJC that annulled the document approved in 2022. Monzón details what he considers "errors" by the Court, particularly in the interpretation of the transitional and derogatory regime of the Land Law, although he refrains from commenting on the decision from a legal standpoint.
During a conference at the Royal Economic Society of Friends of Gran Canaria, Monzón defended the legality of the PIO-GC, describing the judicial resolution as "arbitrary and superficial." The Insular Corporation supports this stance and will exhaust all judicial avenues to defend the planning.
The core of the criticism focuses on the TSJC's justification for the total nullity of the PIO. The ruling argues that it "makes no sense" to revise an island plan to adapt it to a repealed regulation, Law 19/2003, after the entry into force of the Canary Islands Land Law of 2017. However, Monzón argues that the court starts from an "erroneous" interpretation of the repeal, as the 2017 law maintains in force additional provisions, transitional provisions, and general and tourism planning guidelines. "To believe that the plan becomes devoid of content borders on a complete lack of rigor," he stated.
Monzón also questioned the TSJC's "change of criteria" regarding the transitional regime of Law 4/2017. He pointed out that the sixth transitional provision allowed the processing of planning instruments to continue under previous legislation, an interpretation supported by previous rulings from the same Court. He considers it contradictory that this possibility is now denied to Gran Canaria's PIO, stating that the ruling "says the exact opposite of what the transitional provision establishes."
Furthermore, Monzón indicated that the Court erroneously interprets the 2022 PIOGC revision as a mere adaptation to the Guidelines Law, when it is an integral revision of the 2004 Plan. The technical team acted according to Decree-Law 1/2000, with a view towards 2050, updating the informational base and incorporating environmental and sectoral legislation, studies on mobility, carrying capacity, guidelines for residential and tourism growth, and new infrastructures.
Regarding the judicial resolution's use of the Plan's Informative Report, Monzón criticized that the Court confuses "information with determinations" by relying on a section that merely lists the different planning instruments. In his opinion, the tribunal wrongly interprets this mention as maintaining "determinations contrary" to the Land Law, failing to understand the document's structure or the current planning system.
The technical director warned about the consequences of the PIO's nullity being consolidated, creating "very broad legal uncertainty" affecting numerous municipal, sectoral plans, and private projects. Among the potentially affected actions are infrastructures like the La Aldea bypass, access to the Port of Las Nieves in Agaete, the expansion of the Juan Grande environmental complex, and the inland corridor between Ingenio and Doctoral, as well as private initiatives in renewable energy, agriculture, aquaculture, glamping, and tourism developments in the north and west of the island.
The Insular Government filed an appeal for cassation before the TSJC and the Supreme Court on May 21st against ruling 170/2026. The institution's legal services are analyzing the document and "will go all out in defense of the plan," assured Monzón.
The PIO revision, initiated between 2010 and 2013, was definitively approved on December 29, 2022, and came into force on January 19, 2023. However, two subsequent TSJC rulings declared its total nullity. The president of the Gran Canaria Cabildo, Antonio Morales, has reiterated his outright rejection of the resolution, deeming it "unjust, erroneous, superficial, and disproportionate."
