granadilla de abona needs 5500 homes

Granadilla de Abona needs 5,500 homes to meet demand

Housing crisis revealed: 5,500 homes needed in Granadilla de Abona

Granadilla de Abona requires 5,500 homes to meet current and future demand, according to early findings from a diagnostic study being carried out by the University of La Laguna on behalf of the local council. The municipality recorded a population growth of around 27% between 2011 and 2021, with 80% of this increase attributed to migration. This, the report notes, has been a key factor driving a ‘constant’ rise in the demand for housing, according to the area’s councillor, Rubén García.

Rental prices skyrocket

The same study reveals that rental prices in Granadilla de Abona have increased by between 70% and 80% since 2020, a cost that many families are now shouldering by spending between 55% and 63% of their income. ‘The diagnosis is clear, and no one can deny the reality we are facing here and across the entire autonomous community,’ the councillor stated during yesterday’s plenary session.

Political clash over public housing plans

His remarks came just before the ruling coalition—made up of Coalición Canaria, the Partido Popular, and Vox—rejected a proposal from the Socialist Party (PSOE) to promote and build public housing through the municipal company Servicios Municipales de Granadilla de Abona, SL (Sermugran). The Socialists were unable to defend their initiative, having walked out of the chamber minutes earlier. Sermugran is already tasked with this responsibility and is taking steps to restructure and equip itself with the necessary tools and staff to develop ‘efficient management models’ with a ‘proven track record of success,’ currently being analysed for adaptation to Granadilla de Abona. ‘We cannot confuse a public company with a private housing developer,’ Rubén García added.

Accusations of ‘banana republic’ dictatorship

The deputy spokesperson for the PP, Marcos Antonio Rodríguez, retorted that the motion had ‘come too late’ because ‘we have been working on this since we came into government after the no-confidence motion.’ The PSOE could not rebut these words, as their councillor David Santos was ejected from the chamber after being called to order three times for interrupting the speeches of governing group councillors. This incident occurred during the debate on a separate motion in which the Socialists had called for a code of good practice on official social media accounts. Following an exchange of views between the PSOE councillor and the Coalición Canaria spokesperson, Candelaria Rodríguez, the mayor, José Domingo Regalado, demanded respect for fellow councillors and the council’s procedural rules. ‘He’s a tinpot dictator,’ Santos declared. The non-attached councillor, Bianca Cerbán, joined the Socialists in their walkout. For her spokesperson, Jennifer Miranda, the incident ‘confirms a governing style based on silencing the opposition, eliminating political debate, and using the council presidency as a tool of imposition rather than a guarantee of impartiality and democratic respect.’ She accused her CC counterpart of ‘insults, personal attacks, and constant references to the families of opposition councillors.’ In the same later statement, Santos branded the mayor a ‘banana republic dictator.’

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