San Marcos Beach Restoration Stalled Amid Political Dispute in Icod de los Vinos

The restoration of San Marcos beach in Icod de los Vinos has become the center of a heated political dispute. Current mayor Javier Sierra claims the project is stalled because regional and state agencies have failed to respond to his requests. He directly blames his predecessor, Francis González—who is now the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure for the Canary Islands—for the delay.

At the heart of the conflict are the environmental impact statements and sectoral reports required to begin construction. According to the City Council, the project is stuck because Puertos Canarios and the General Directorate of Coasts have not responded to their filings. Both agencies fall under the Ministry of Infrastructure, where González holds a senior role. Sierra argues that this overlap suggests the lack of progress is a deliberate attempt to obstruct the project rather than a simple bureaucratic backlog.

The local government’s timeline shows that the issues began in February 2023, when the Canary Islands government asked then-mayor Francis González to provide the necessary land and urban planning approvals. That request, repeated in June 2023, went unanswered during his term. After Sierra took office in August 2023, his team officially transferred the land and sent the agreement to the General Directorate of Tourism Infrastructure to get the project moving.

Despite Sierra’s efforts to engage the central government, the Cabildo of Tenerife, and the Ministry of Territorial Policy—including meetings in Madrid and formal requests for action in 2024 and 2025—little has changed. While the Island Water Council (Ciatfe) provided its report, other agencies have ignored the requests. In the case of the Coastal Authority, the application was dismissed after the four-month legal deadline passed without a response.

This situation highlights the difficulties of coordinating large-scale projects across multiple levels of government. The ongoing paralysis at San Marcos has not only stalled infrastructure improvements but also exposed a deep breakdown in communication between the City Council and regional authorities, leaving a project long-awaited by the people of Icod in limbo.