What has Parliament decided?
The education committee of the Canary Islands Parliament has unanimously adopted PSOE initiative 11L/PNLC-0069. Crónicas de Lanzarote reported this on Monday. The initiative calls on the Canary Islands Government, the Cabildo de Lanzarote and the municipality of Teguise to resolve the planning obstacles.
Socialist deputy Marcos Bergaz defended the motion in committee. According to Crónicas de Lanzarote, he said: "Esta iniciativa no pretende buscar culpables, sino soluciones." In English: this initiative is not seeking to blame anyone, but to find solutions.
A decision does not, however, mean construction will begin. Neither an approved construction budget nor a binding completion date has been set. The decision is a political instruction to the authorities.
Why is the project blocked?
The originally planned expansion was halted. According to reports from the Ayuntamiento de Teguise (municipal authority), the building is in a lawful but legally problematic planning situation outside the current planning order, in Spanish "fuera de ordenación".
As a result, the building volume or height cannot be increased as originally intended. The education authority had already started the process of drawing up the construction project but had to suspend it. This is set out in a statement from the Canary Islands education ministry.
Responsible at government level is Poli Suárez, Consejero de Educación, Formación Profesional, Actividad Física y Deportes of the Canary Islands. The municipality of Teguise must now clarify the administrative and planning problems with the plot originally provided.
What was planned for Tahíche?
The expansion was intended to increase the built area and create school places. Crónicas de Lanzarote reports this with reference to the project. Additional group and specialist rooms as well as a therapeutic swimming pool were planned.
It was included in the Strategic Education Infrastructure Plan 2024–2035.
What alternative is being considered?
In parallel, the education ministry and the Cabildo de Lanzarote (island government) are examining a second special education centre in Puerto del Carmen, municipality of Tías. The building of the Espacio Insular para la Inclusión y el Bienestar Social could be used for this purpose.
According to the Cabildo, the building has classrooms, a kitchen, dining room, multi-purpose room and rooms for individual support, as Canarias7 reports.
A formal usage agreement is still required. Approval for the transfer of use is also outstanding. No date for this has been given.
What does this mean for affected families?
For families, foreign residents and visitors, no prices, application deadlines, access rules or closures are changing at present. Existing educational provision continues. No new admission or enrolment deadline was mentioned in the available sources.
The centre in Tahíche is, according to the Canary Islands education ministry, the only special education centre on Lanzarote. Due to rising pupil numbers, it is overcrowded. This increases the pressure for a solution.
Across the Canary Islands, according to the official overview, there are special education centres. In addition, there are "Aulas Enclave", special support classes at mainstream schools.
What happens next?
Iván G. Carro, Director General de Infraestructuras y Equipamientos, was due to meet again with the municipality of Teguise and representatives of the Cabildo the following Monday, together with ministry specialists. The exact calendar date is not given in the government statement.
Marcos Bergaz warned, according to Crónicas de Lanzarote, that the decision was only a first step. He demanded: "Ahora toca que Educación, Cabildo y Teguise se pongan manos a la obra." In English: now the education authority, Cabildo and Teguise must get to work.
Still open are the final location, approval of the transfer of use in Puerto del Carmen, a possible start of construction, costs in euros, capacity, enrolment procedure and completion date. The initiative also calls for funding to be included in the Canary Islands budgets.