The judgment, issued on January 22, 2026, by the First Section of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber, with magistrate Fernando Luis Ruiz Piñeiro as rapporteur, addresses a procedure initiated in 2020. At that time, the owner of the Hotel Faro requested a rectification of the demarcation in the section between milestones 98 and 100, seeking a different coastline that would shift the limit of the public maritime-terrestrial domain in front of their establishment.
The core of the conflict lay in the legal classification of the esplanade in front of the hotel. The company argued that this space should be treated as a promenade, based on regulations derived from the 2013 Coastal Law reform. However, the Chamber has concluded that the legal requirements for granting it that status are not met.
The current esplanade does not correspond to a public promenade work, but rather to the result of subsequent actions, including the demolition of facilities and the restoration of the land by the Administration.
The court gave significant weight to the report from the Canary Islands Coastal Demarcation, which reconstructs the evolution of this stretch of coastline. According to this document, the promenade projected in the 90s, intended to connect Meloneras with the Lighthouse area, was never fully executed. The resolution emphasizes that the existing esplanade is the result of subsequent interventions, such as the removal of structures and the restoration of the land by the administration.
The judgment also incorporates precedents that reinforce the state's position. Among these, it highlights that in 1991 and 1997, the company's requests for private uses in that area, such as the installation of hammocks and awnings, were already denied. Furthermore, in 2008, works carried out in the area were removed, shaping the current coastal front.
Another relevant element is the nature of the disputed land. The Chamber considers it proven that, in the affected section, it is a beach area or loose material deposits. This implies that the public domain line coincides with the seashore, as established by the demarcation approved in 1995 and now maintained. With these arguments, the National Court has dismissed the appeal, confirming the legality of the challenged administrative resolution and imposing costs on the appellant.
Although the resolution is not final and can be appealed in cassation before the Supreme Court if a cassational interest is demonstrated, the ruling consolidates the validity of the demarcation in one of Gran Canaria's most sensitive areas from a tourist and urban planning perspective, where the delimitation of the public maritime-terrestrial domain has been a subject of controversy for decades.
