The Gran Canaria Insular Plan of Organization has faced a significant judicial setback. The High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) has ruled in favor of the Platform of Those Affected by the Tourism Law, declaring the plan's revision null. The ruling criticizes the plan's adaptation to tourism regulations that had already been repealed, pointing out the lack of logic in the process and the continued references to obsolete guidelines in the documents.
The appealing platform argued the inadequacy of the tourism fabric's zoning, especially in already urbanized areas, for not recognizing traditional and compatible residential uses. It contended that the formulated norms lacked sufficient justification or reflected an outdated physical and legal reality, violating legal mandates and legally protected situations. The response from the Cabildo and the Federation of Hospitality and Tourism Entrepreneurs of Las Palmas, which dismissed the arguments of the plaintiff Maribe Doreste, did not convince the court.
Another key point of the appeal focused on the exclusion of a portion of the Seabadales de Playa del Inglés marine SCI to accommodate a concession and maintain the proposal for a marina in Bahía Feliz. The platform denounced that this exclusion severely affected a protected marine natural space without the pertinent studies.
“"It makes no sense whatsoever to revise an Insular Plan to adapt it to a repealed regulation; the logical thing is to adapt it to the current legislation."
The ruling, dated June 17, bases the nullity on inconsistency with previous judgments by the same chamber and on the violation of the transitional regime and the repealing effect of Law 4/2017, on Canary Islands Soil and Protected Natural Areas. The main irregularity lies in the fact that the Cabildo of Gran Canaria approved a PIO revision in 2022 to adapt to Law 19/2003, when this law had already been largely repealed in September 2017.
The Platform of Those Affected by the Tourism Law (PALT) considers the PIO to reflect an obsolete tourism model focused on maximizing beds, to the detriment of the local population and their customs. They argue that the decision to eliminate compatibility between residential and tourism use was not a technical error but a deliberate political decision. The platform also criticizes the assumption that tourism pressure can be doubled without consequences, calling it an "absolute folly."
The PALT recalls that its legal action not only sought to protect the right to use homes in the south of Gran Canaria but also to oppose the proposal for a high-capacity marina on the coast of Bahía Feliz, within the special conservation area of Sebadales de Playa del Inglés, despite the severe environmental impacts it would cause. The platform celebrates this ruling, which adds to five previous ones against the PIO in recent months.
