San Andrés Residents Appeal to Prime Minister to Halt Demolition of Historic Fishermen’s Guild

The battle over the future of the old fishermen’s guild in San Andrés, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, has reached the Prime Minister’s office. As Diario de Avisos reported in May, the Directorate General for the Coast plans to demolish the building near Las Teresitas beach, arguing that its current state of decay and abandonment makes removal necessary.

In response, the El Pescador neighborhood association is stepping up its political efforts. The group has written to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, asking him to intervene to stop the demolition and repurpose the site. Residents propose renovating the building into a museum or interpretation center dedicated to the area’s fishing history. They believe this would preserve the neighborhood’s maritime heritage and put an end to the vandalism and illegal occupation currently plaguing the site.

The dispute highlights a common tension between government efforts to manage public coastal land and the desire of local communities to protect their cultural history. While the Ministry for the Ecological Transition views the structure as an obsolete building that should be removed to restore the natural coastline, residents maintain that the building can be saved.

The association has launched a campaign to gather support, collecting nearly a thousand signatures both in person and through an online petition on Change.org. Spokesperson Marcos Cova described the letter to the Prime Minister as a "last resort" to save the building from the wrecking ball. So far, the central government has not responded to the request, which included photos and documents demonstrating the building’s potential for renovation.