Residents of Tenerife’s second biggest city have called for a tightening of its listed building rules and other measures to retain the old part’s historic flavour.
La Laguna was founded in the late 15th century and is the first example of an unfortified town with a grid model. Its layout was the direct precursor of the settlements in the Americas under Spanish rule during colonial times. The city boasts hundreds of old buildings, including palaces dating back to the 16th and 17 centuries.
It was awarded world heritage city status by Unesco in 1999 on account of its “extraordinarily homogeneous town structure, in which the religious, institutional, and residential buildings coexist on the original map design in perfect harmony”.
At the time, the local authorities were praised by Unesco for putting in place a Special Protection Plan to protect its many historic buildings, each of which is subject to strict conservation and restoration rules.
However, despite many improvements such as the pedestrianisation of key streets, concerns have been voiced of late by La Laguna’s influential city centre residents’ association that more recent developments run counter to the philosophy that led to the prestigious Unesco status.
Association chairman Pablo Reyes has taken its concerns to the media this week and has urged La Laguna to draw up an even stricter Plan to ensure that the old part retains its original flavour and remains resident-friendly.
“While we recognise that much good work has been done, recent decisions such as the permission given for one of the old part’s flagship buildings to be turned into a fast-food restaurant and the removal of a number of other buildings from the protection list are extremely worrying” said Reyes.
A further concern of the residents is the spiralling use of the centre for major sporting events and celebrations of all kinds which draw massive crowds but also attract high levels of noise and unsocial behaviour, prompting many locals to move out during the days on which events are held.
Interviewed in the Atlántico Hoy newspaper yesterday, Reyes said that, unless a new approach was taken by the city authorities, “La Laguna risked losing its heritage, quality of life and identity due to the proliferation of franchises, bars and celebrations”.
