Antigua prepares land for protected housing after more than 35 years without new homes

Antigua has begun the planning process to secure land for protected housing, after more than 35 years without any new homes of this kind being built in the municipality. The Town Council has commissioned Gesplan to draw up a targeted amendment to the General Plan covering two areas: one in Antigua town and the other in Valles de Ortega. The aim is to acquire the plots through compulsory purchase and then transfer them to the Canary Islands Housing Institute (ICAVI).

Urban Planning Councillor David Alberto told La Voz de Fuerteventura in an interview that Antigua currently has only ten officially protected homes, built between the late eighties and early nineties.

“Antigua has only 10 officially protected homes, built in 89–90. It has been more than 35 years since an officially protected home was built,” the councillor said.

The process is still at an early stage. The Town Council does not own the land, and the planning rules will first need to be amended before the plots can be acquired through compulsory purchase, he said.

Once the land is in municipal ownership, the intention is to make it available to the Canary Islands Government and the Canary Islands Housing Institute for protected housing development.

“Once the plan has been amended — because it has to be amended — the land has to be compulsorily purchased because we don’t own any, and once all that is done, the whole file would go to the full council before the land is transferred to the Government,” Alberto explained.

Protected housing in Antigua and Valles de Ortega

The plan is to work on two plots, one in Antigua town and the other in Valles de Ortega. The councillor said each area would need at least around 2,000 square metres to ensure the future development has sufficient capacity.

The specific plots have not yet been identified, and negotiations with their owners have not begun. As part of the planning amendment, Gesplan will determine the most suitable locations, taking into account factors including proximity to services.

The Town Council has been given around a year and a half to complete the amendment. Alberto said work on the commission began a few months ago.

The councillor said it was necessary to start making land available for public and protected housing in response to the housing emergency.

“We have to start building public housing and private housing as well as protected housing,” he said, backing all approaches that could make construction possible.

Land transfer for healthcare facilities

Acquiring and transferring land is also one of the tools the Town Council is using to advance outstanding healthcare infrastructure projects in the municipality.

In Caleta de Fuste, the council has completed the subdivision of a 2,000-square-metre plot for a future healthcare centre. The land was originally part of a municipal plot of around 11,000 square metres, but the Canary Islands Health Service considered 2,000 square metres sufficient.

The land has now been transferred directly to the Canary Islands Health Service, after the agency requested further documents to complete the file.

The Canary Islands Government has also allocated €50,000 to draw up the project. The Town Council wants the 2027 regional budget to include a dedicated allocation for construction work on the future centre.

“What we want is for the Canary Islands Government’s budget to include a dedicated allocation for the construction work,” David Alberto said.

More land to provide 24-hour emergency care

The Town Council is also working to make land next to the existing Antigua Health Centre available, allowing it to be expanded to include a 24-hour emergency service, a priority for the municipality.

A functional plan commissioned by the Canary Islands Health Service concluded that the space available within the current plot is insufficient for the approximately 380 square metres needed to provide the service.

The option of building a second floor was ruled out after it was found that the building was not structurally equipped for one. The alternative proposed by the Canary Islands Health Service is to extend the building onto an adjoining plot.

The Town Council is now processing the transfer of that land and hopes the file will be well advanced or completed before the end of the year, allowing the Canary Islands Health Service to begin drawing up the project afterwards, he concluded.