A few days ago, we published an article regarding illegal land sales in the south of Tenerife, of which more details have come to light from the owners and the people that bought the plots. The area is called Lomo Negro which is situated behind El Fraile not far from the Las Galletas coast in the south of Tenerife.
After the Department of the Environment filed a complaint to the Prosecutor's Office, the families and owners of the land and the ‘clandestine’ properties have explained how they knew they couldn’t build on it but live in the hope that the government will legalise it.
Over a period of 20 years, more than 110 houses have been built on illegally segregated land in Lomo Negro, which far from being perfect is home to around 200 working families who have invested their time and effort to build their homes, waiting with great patience and enthusiasm for the area to be legalized.
Sol del Sur spoke to one of the owners in the area who bought his land twenty years ago and admitted that all of them who have bought plots are aware that they could not legally build on the land, as when they signed the deeds before a notary, everything was very well emphasized, but they live in hope of legalization, and according to one seller, more than thirty plots have been legalized.
According to a local policeman from Arona, Seprona (the environmental division of the Guardia Civil) has requested documentation and identification from all the owners in the area, and obviously, these people are concerned about any sanction that may come in the future. The officer also said that some of the ‘homes’ are being rented as holiday lets, and one is even a hardware store.
Both the house and the land owners are also asking the Court to expedite the procedures to connect the properties to electricity and water because 99% of the houses use solar panels and the water is bought in large containers. They also want it legalised so that the roads can be tarmacked, they can have proper sewage systems and lighting, saying that they are happy to pay taxes and basura like any other urbanisation.
However, they also believe that the reasons for this ‘attack’ on them is politically motivated, as it is totally incomprehensible that they can claim they knew nothing about these buildings after 20 years and go there as if nobody knew anything about their existence.
The owners are convinced that everything will be solved in a positive way, because in the New General Plan there is a legalized part, and "They are registered in it." They are also positive because El Fraile itself began in exactly the same way as Lomo Negro, it was also a clandestine subdivision that was legalized over time.
