The hillside overlooking Playa del Inglés, where the abandoned old “toboplaya” waterslide sits, on the touristed south coast of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, is to be approved for the construction of a new viewpoint, as part of the major renovations and clean up of the area that was undertaken by Conchi Narváez’s town hall administration, with the creation of green areas decorated by up to 24 different mostly native plant species, and a “dragonal” which will be set up to show off one of the most emblematic and unique species in the Canary Islands. According to municipal sources, the Town Council Government Board of San Bartolomé de Tirajana is expected to approve, this Thursday, the granting of a license for the Maspalomas Gran Canaria Consortium to carry out the clean up of the land, including the removal of the old water slide, and demolition of the buildings, which has been left abandoned for over 26 years and accumulated tons of detritus.

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The land has been made public after 25 years of abandonment. The Urban Planning Department, led by Samuel Henríquez, will grant the permits almost two years after the Consortium first applied for the license and presented their project back on May 7, 2021, and just seven months after the land officially passed into public hands on September 13 last year, after the signing of a receipt agreement between the Town Council and Katanga Inversiones S.A., the previous owner of the land. The Town Hall acquired 3,487 square meters at a cost of €3,710,019.88, the amount that the Supreme Court established as a fair price for what was in the end an expropriation. This plot has thereby been added to another municipal plot to now total 4,860 square meters which will be now be completely transformed.

Once the license is obtained, the consortium will have four years to initiate the project first for the removal of accumulated rubbish and the demolition of buildings, and then the conversion of this degraded space, looking out to the south east side of the island, into an attractive, landscaped area that will be divided into two sections.

The area located at the southern end of the plots, will be readapted and stabilised with a design of longitudinal terraces made with eight stone masonry walls, which will allow leave the surface suitable for cultivation along the steep slope. This will allow for landscape improvements that include the creation of a line of trees at the foot of the slope using species such as “tarajales”, “acebuches”, “guaidiles”, “balos”, and “peralillos”. Additionally, the area under the shade of the Indian laurel there will be restored.

In the area located further east, a viewpoint will be built, accessed from the Maspalomas Costa Canaria promenade, coastal path, and will accessible to the public. It will also feature urban furniture such as benches for resting. The project contemplates the hiring of a local artist to create murals on the walls.

In this area, the soil from the movement of earth for the construction of the terraces will be used to fill in the land excavated by the removal of the old slide. In addition, a palm grove – currently containing 23 specimens – will be maintained and expanded, and an area with “dragos” (Dragon Trees) accompanied by “acebuches”, “cardones”, and “tabaibas” will be planted to enhance entire area.

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