Supreme Court Rules Tenerife Motor Circuit Environmental Permit Expired

A recent Supreme Court ruling has reached a definitive conclusion regarding the controversial Tenerife Motor Circuit. The Tenerife Association of Friends of Nature (ATAN) announced that the court dismissed an appeal from the Island Council, finalizing a judgment that declares the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for one of the project's four segments expired.

The September 30 ruling effectively ends the legal battle over this specific section, which involved land grading and the installation of temporary grandstands. The court also ordered the island administration to pay legal costs, citing a lack of solid legal arguments and a failure to demonstrate sufficient grounds for appeal. This decision invalidates the legal and environmental authorization for the work already completed in that area.

This outcome confirms concerns raised by various groups since 2022. The Ombudsman, the Island Council’s own technical experts, and previous courts—including the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands—had all questioned the validity of a 2016 site report, suggesting it may have been an attempt to bypass the expiration of the project’s permits.

ATAN has criticized the Island Council for pushing forward with construction despite multiple unfavorable court rulings, arguing that this "fait accompli" strategy caused unnecessary environmental damage and wasted public funds on a project that lacked legal viability.

While this ruling is final for one segment, the overall project remains complex. Three other parts of the development—the northern access, the flood defense adaptation, and the speed track—are still under judicial review. In light of the ruling, conservationists are calling on the Island Council to immediately halt construction, begin restoring the affected land, and hold those responsible for the project's management accountable.