They start accepting money from Brussels and then don't know how to tell people they're going to be inconvenienced, even paying €60.000 in consulting fees to someone from the PSOE and NC era who didn't even apply. The San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council is facing administrative delays and legal obstacles in implementing its Low Emission Zone (LEZ), despite having received public funding and having the technical plans ready, according to the audit report on the establishment of Low Emission Zones prepared by the Canary Islands Court of Auditors.
The oversight body places the Tirajana council among the 7 main municipalities of the archipelago —along with Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, La Laguna, Telde, Arona, Santa Lucía de Tirajana, Arrecife and Granadilla de Abona— that fail to meet the implementation deadlines mainly due to insufficient human resources.
Despite the municipality being among the six local entities that secured funding and subsidies for this purpose—with a total amount of €3,5 million for all the analyzed municipalities—the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) remains non-operational in the tourist town. Among the specific expenditures is a €60.241 technical assistance contract awarded under file number 19/2023 for the design and planning of the low-emission zone, a project that included a preliminary analysis based on territorial, socioeconomic, environmental, and mobility indicators.
However, the report details that the restricted zone remains stalled as the final implementation project, budgeted at €260.325, is still pending tender. This administrative delay is compounded by the legal uncertainty surrounding the regulatory ordinance, which has been challenged in court. Furthermore, the Court of Auditors notes deficiencies in the social planning of the municipal project, pointing out that the San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council failed to conduct preliminary studies to assess the impact of the Low Emission Zone on the most economically vulnerable social groups.
