The Agrupación Herreña Independiente (AHI), one of the partners in the Canary Islands Government alongside Coalición Canaria (CC) and the Partido Popular (PP), attempted to introduce an amendment to the future law on the privatization of urban planning licenses to allow tourist use with accommodations of up to 150 square meters on all common and protected agricultural rural land in La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro. The proposal aimed to nullify current and future planning that prohibits such developments.
The amendment, presented orally as an in voce amendment, required unanimity for its processing but was vetoed by the PSOE and Nueva Canarias. Coalición Canaria has not offered an opinion, while the PP believes it has not yet been discussed in parliamentary sessions.
AHI's intention was to attach this reform to the law on the privatization of urban planning licenses, a common practice. The proposal sought to "displace" the determinations of territorial and urban planning instruments that prohibit or condition tourist use in these areas.
Although the Green Islands Law of 2019 already permits tourist use on common and agricultural rural land, it does so within a regulated framework that requires compatibility with agricultural exploitation and the conservation of territorial values. AHI intended for tourist use to have "direct and full effect," without the need for specific planning instruments, and for conservation requirements to be considered "met" after environmental assessment.
The proposal also established technical rules for tourist development, such as a buildable area of between 20 and 30 square meters per bed, buildings not exceeding 150 square meters and a single story, the use of landscape-integrating materials, road access, and one parking space per four accommodations.
The impact of the Green Islands Law has been moderate. In El Hierro, accommodation establishments increased from 28 to 31 between 2019 and 2026; in La Gomera, they decreased from 98 to 67; and in La Palma, from 183 to 95, influenced by the volcanic eruption. The rise of holiday rentals has, however, been exponential.
