San Miguel de Abona Urban Plan Sparks Secrecy Row
San Miguel de Abona is embroiled in a political and social dispute over its new urban development plan, with the Socialist opposition and residents accusing the local government of secrecy and denying access to the document.
The start of San Miguel de Abona's new urban development plan (PGOS) has sparked a major political and social argument in the Tenerife municipality. Accusations of secrecy and hiding information are at the heart of the dispute.
The local government, led by the Coalición Canaria party, says the process was legal and the new plan is essential. However, the Socialist opposition and local residents complain they can't access the document and are unsure if it's legally valid yet.
According to the council, the Canary Islands government approved the PGOS on December 30, 2025. This step was later confirmed by the local council with votes from CC councillors. The local government expects the plan to be officially published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (BOC) this month, which would make it fully legal, as stated by the Department of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion, and Water.
However, the main opposition party, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), argues the plan is already active. They point to announcements published in the BOC on January 13 and in the Official Gazette of the Province (BOP) on January 7. Socialist councillor Carol Correa has accused Mayor Arturo González of "lying and hiding" the document from the public, noting that the mayor attended the approval meeting in December – a fact supported by images on the council's website and in the media. The Socialist Group sees this as a "serious lack of institutional transparency" and "worrying concealment of important information."
Local residents have also voiced their worries, saying in a statement that they haven't been able to see the plans or other key documents. This is despite the local government's defence of the process, which states that the PGOS, put together by the public company Gesplan, "strictly" followed all public consultation rules. It was displayed twice and received over a thousand comments from individuals, plus suggestions for improvement from the council itself.
Mayor Arturo González called the PGOS a "vital tool" for San Miguel de Abona's development. He stressed that the current plan is from 1987, and an updated one is "essential" to manage the town's growth properly and with a long-term vision. González aimed to "reassure" residents, dismissing "inaccurate and malicious information" – a clear jab at the PSOE – and clarifying that the plan "does not involve any land seizures." He also insisted the document isn't legally binding until it's published in the BOC. Once that happens, a special Municipal Technical Office will be created to give residents individual information.
This dispute highlights how crucial official publications in gazettes are for the legal certainty of town planning documents, and also the basic right of citizens to access information that directly impacts their land and property. Tensions remain high in San Miguel de Abona as everyone awaits the final publication of the PGOS and for the opposition and residents' demands for transparency to be addressed.