Urban Planning Developments in Arona
There is a silver lining to the urban planning chaos in Arona. Despite the negative aspects of the past thirty years—corruption investigations, political and business conflicts, and a general plan stalled by judicial order since 2015—the mismanagement of urban development in this Tenerife municipality presents a significant opportunity at a crucial time. The unblocking of previously stalled action units due to prolonged political inertia now allows Arona to lay the groundwork for leading housing creation in Canarias, at a time when it is urgently needed amidst a housing crisis.
The Arona government, led by mayor Fátima Lemes, estimates there is enough urban land to build over 4,000 houses of all types, both private and social, in the coming years. No other municipality in the Canary Islands has such potential. Lemes and the councillor for Urbanism, Javier Baute (PP), have prioritised the recovery of previously declared urban land that can be consolidated to alleviating the pressing housing shortage not just in the south but across the whole island.
The first major step has just been taken. Last Monday, the City Council and the Compensation Board of El Mojón signed the partial reception document for the largest urban land parcel in the Canary Islands, located just above the main population centre of Arona: Los Cristianos. This marks the unblocking of nearly one million square metres of land, 40 years after the establishment of this partial plan. El Mojón alone will provide 5,400 residential beds, meaning between 2,000 and 2,500 homes that can now finally be built by developers.
El Mojón is the third largest urban land parcel in Spain, surpassed only by two located in Madrid.
According to its head, the Urban Planning Department has resolved an administrative issue caused by the historical chaos of municipal management, allowing the Council to grant licences and proceed with all these lands. “The uses for El Mojón were already decided, the land was already consolidated, and what we have done now is finish unblocking a large part of this partial plan,” emphasised Javier Baute.
Other Projects Across Arona
However, the councillor places more importance on other development sites scattered across Arona that have not received media attention, overshadowed by the monumental numbers of El Mojón. These sites, similar to El Mojón, represent more than 350,000 square metres of urban land pending market release, with potential to generate at least another 2,000 homes.
Cho-Parque de la Reina
The most significant case is that of Cho-Parque de la Reina, a private site awaiting construction for 40 years. Javier Baute states there is hope of resolving this urban conflict soon, allowing the Council to issue licences thanks to advances in negotiations with the owners. Unlike El Mojón, which plans for high-quality buildings with lower density, Cho-Parque de la Reina proposes more affordable housing for middle-class residents, thus allowing for higher density. This site, adjacent to one of Arona’s most popular residential areas, Guaza, has potential for around 1,000 homes. In addition to residential buildings, there will also be supermarkets and other services, as emphasised by the councillor.
The other areas highlighted by Baute that the Council is monitoring are spread across four nuclei and could add another thousand homes: Valle San Lorenzo, Cabo Blanco, Buzanada, and La Camella. These regions predominantly house workers linked to tourism and have significant residential potential due to unbuilt land in development units. In Valle San Lorenzo, there are three parcels of land measuring 18,000, 26,000, and 27,000 square metres, with between 70% and 90% untouched. Cabo Blanco has two parcels of 88,000 and 52,000 square metres, where over 70% is available for construction. Buzanada has one of 69,000 square metres, with 80% unoccupied.
The Crisis at La Camella
The case of La Camella exemplifies the consequences of the disastrous urban management in Arona, reaching absurd levels. There is a building of 35 social housing units constructed 15 years ago yet remains unoccupied due to another legal and urban mess. In 2021, the Council was ordered to pay 2.7 million euros to the public company Visocan from the Canarian Government for this construction, whose building permit was declared void as the land, while urbanisable, lacked all necessary elements for development. The ruling established that ownership resides with the Council. Javier Baute’s team is now working to resolve this issue permanently so that these homes can finally be occupied by residents with limited resources.
In a municipality with an official population of 87,000—estimated by some to exceed 100,000 when including those unregistered—currently, real estate listings offer only 190 rental options. No listings are below 700 euros per month and most exceed 900. For a room in a shared house, asking prices reach over 400 euros. Given this situation and the rising costs of property purchases—currently averaging 3,700 euros per square metre in Arona—the recovery and construction of housing is an urgent and non-negotiable goal.
Less Land and More Population
Canarias in general and Tenerife specifically face significant disadvantages: the lack of available urban land in a highly limited island territory, half of which is protected due to its natural value, combined with a continuously increasing population, particularly in the South which faces the highest tourist pressure. The island is expected to surpass one million inhabitants within seven years if it continues its recent demographic growth. Consequently, the situation in Arona is particularly striking, with substantial development bubbles awaiting realisation besides El Mojón. There is no other place in the islands like this, with the potential to increase the housing stock by over 4,000 homes in the short and medium term.
In Madrid alone are there larger urban plans in development than El Mojón. The availability of land on the mainland is incomparable to that of the archipelago. The 45 million square metres of new neighbourhoods projected in the southwest of the national capital (Valdecerros, Berrocales, Los Ahijones, Los Cerros, Cristo Rivas, and El Cañaveral) or the 3.2 million of the Madrid Nuevo Norte project stand out. By comparison, El Mojón would rank third among the largest urban parcels, with nearly one million square metres—equivalent to 140 football pitches. Fourth in this ranking would be the Integrated Action Programme (PAI) of Grao in Valencia, covering 380,000 square metres.
Timeline of El Mojón
20 March 1986
The Partial Plan of El Mojón was commissioned in 1985 and designed by the Palmesan architect Rubens Henríquez. It was first submitted to the Arona City Council on 20 March 1986.
1 October 1996
The Urbanism and Environment Commission of the Government of Canarias approved the Partial Plan of El Mojón.
29 June 1998
A resolution by the Mayor leads to the definitive approval of the urbanisation project.
16 March 2001
The Municipal Government Commission approves the compensation project.
January 2015
The signed urban agreement is invalidated when the Supreme Court annulled the General Town Planning Plan of Arona.
July 2018
The first licence in El Mojón is granted to the company Inversiones Marylanza SL.
17 August 2020
The then-mayor, José Julián Mena, resolves not to receive the partial plan based on negative technical reports.
31 January 2024
The Urbanism Informative Commission addresses the agreement between the City Council of Arona and the Compensation Board of the Partial Plan of El Mojón, reopening the process to finally advance this large parcel of land.
6 February 2024
A historic agreement is reached in the Arona City Council to promote the new city of El Mojón, set to transform the tourist heart of southern Tenerife. The full council approves, in an extraordinary session, the definitive agreement with the Compensation Board—comprising the landowners—for the development of the Partial Plan of El Mojón.
15 September 2025
The City Council of Arona and the Compensation Board of El Mojón sign the reception of the Partial Plan in Los Cristianos, finally unblocking the largest urban land parcel in Canarias, nearly one million square metres, with 60% allocated for housing. Three hotels and two large parks are also planned.
