Adasat Reyes, first vice-president and minister of Internal Regime and Insular Heritage of the Cabildo de La Gomera, has conveyed a positive assessment of the draft laws for updating the Canary Islands' Land Law and Sustainable Mobility Law, debated in the General Commission of Island Councils of the Parliament of the Canary Islands. The Corporation deems the revision of both regulatory frameworks necessary, although it stresses that their application must respect island specificities and provide the island councils with adequate means.
Regarding the update of Law 4/2017, of July 13, on Land and Protected Natural Spaces of the Canary Islands, Reyes argued that territorial planning must reconcile the protection of natural resources and the conservation of spaces with the development of infrastructure, economic activity, housing needs, and the maintenance of the population in municipalities.
“"Territorial planning must guarantee the protection of our spaces, our natural resources. It must also offer effective instruments to develop infrastructure, promote economic activities, meet housing needs, and maintain the population of the municipalities."
The Gomera representative valued the measures aimed at clarifying planning instruments, reducing the complexity of their processing, and facilitating the management of rural settlements, the recovery of traditional buildings, and the compatibility of certain agricultural uses. He warned, however, that planning loses effectiveness when its approval takes so many years that its forecasts become outdated.
As he explained, the reform maintains relevant attributions for the island councils. Articles 76 and 79 regulate their intervention in actions on rural land; Article 80 assigns them authorizations linked to sporting events in protected natural areas, motorized tests, and the official network for motor vehicles in rural environments. Articles 102 and 103 retain the elaboration and approval of insular planning plans for the island corporations, while Article 116 contemplates responsibilities over certain areas of the Natura 2000 Network.
Regarding Article 117, which allows the regional government to assume the elaboration of certain instruments by substitution in case of inaction or unjustified delay by an island council, after a three-month notice, Reyes requested that objective criteria be applied and that collaboration and technical support be prioritized.
“"The island councils are not secondary actors in this reform, but essential administrations for its correct application."
Concerning the Sustainable Mobility Law of the Canary Islands, the Island Council shares the need to update the regulatory framework and plan mobility from a perspective that includes accessibility, territorial cohesion, sustainability, and the real time citizens take to access essential services.
“"We cannot talk about mobility thinking exclusively about roads or transport services."
The proposal assigns to the island councils the elaboration and approval of sustainable mobility plans, coordinated with regional and municipal planning. The insular vice-president requested that these plans retain sufficient scope for each island to organize its mobility and that their relationship with territorial planning be specified, avoiding contradictions, duplications, and application difficulties.
Reyes concluded by pointing out that both projects can contribute to improving planning and responding to insular needs, provided that coordination between administrations translates into clear procedures and sufficient capacities, especially in territories with less administrative capacity.
