court halts cuna del alma works tenerife coast

Court Halts Luxury Resort Works on Tenerife Coast

Court Orders Immediate Halt to Coastal Works

A judge has just ordered the immediate suspension of a significant part of the construction work for the Cuna del Alma luxury urbanisation in the south of Tenerife. The magistrate of the Court of First Instance Number 1 in Arona has accepted a request from the Public Prosecutor’s Office to stop work within the coastal protection easement zone—the 100 metres inland from the shore at Puertito de Adeje.

Judicial Ruling and Police Involvement

In an order signed on Wednesday 8 April, to which EL DÍA has had access, Judge Sandra Peraza upheld the application for precautionary measures filed by the Public Prosecutor. Consequently, she ordered the “immediate suspension and sealing off of the works being carried out in the coastal protection easement zone” for the construction of Cuna del Alma, which had been authorised by the Canary Islands Government’s Ministry of Public Works and the General Directorate for the Coast. The surface area affected by the court order is 2,394 square metres.

The judge has also requested that the Civil Guard attend the area affected by the work stoppage and sealing order, “and must produce a photographic report of the state of said area at the time of the sealing.”

Prosecutor’s Challenge to Permits

The Provincial Prosecutor’s Office had requested on 25 March, via a written submission, the adoption of a precautionary measure to suspend and halt the works being carried out in the protection easement zone authorised by the regional government. The Prosecutor’s Office argued that the works for the luxury development did not meet the extraordinary reasons required to permit construction so close to the shore at Puertito de Adeje.

It therefore specifically requested the halt of only part of the work being executed by the accused commercial entity, Segunda Casa Adeje SL. This concerns plot T2 of the Partial Plan and is partially affected by the protection easement. As detailed by the public prosecutor in their submission, the protection easement zone is a strip of land 100 metres inland from the inner limit of the shoreline. This area is subject to a special protection regime under the Coasts Law 22/1988 and its regulations, with the objective of preserving the Spanish coastline.

Reopened Criminal Case

The Public Prosecutor understands these works to be illegal and that they should not have received authorisation from the Canary Islands Government. It therefore requested their suspension until the case is definitively resolved, a request to which the Court of First Instance Number 1 in Arona has now agreed.

Judge Sandra Peraza has reopened the criminal case concerning Cuna del Alma, at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office itself, after having previously archived it. The procedure investigates alleged crimes against land use planning and the environment, falsification of public documents, misconduct in public office, influence peddling, and corruption in the private sector related to the construction of Cuna del Alma on the coast of Puertito de Adeje.

Scale of the Controversial Development

Cuna del Alma is an urbanisation of luxury villas and hotel places on the Adeje coast, covering an area of more than 430,000 square metres. The now-halted works consisted of, among other things, the construction of gardens, a bar, swimming pools, terraces, a solarium, and changing rooms—all private-use facilities belonging to Cuna del Alma.

Previous Legal Proceedings

Earlier this year, the presiding magistrate of the Court of First Instance number 1 in Arona accepted appeals against the archiving of the case concerning the works at the Cuna del Alma tourist complex in the south of Tenerife, although she rejected at that time a request for its precautionary suspension. The Prosecutor’s Office and the popular accusation, exercised by the Puertito Libre Cultural Social Ecologist Association, had appealed the provisional dismissal of the case ordered on 4 December 2025 by the magistrate.

The judge agreed to this appeal and ordered two new investigative steps. However, at that time and with the agreement of the Prosecutor’s Office, she dismissed the popular accusation’s appeal for a precautionary halt to the works, though she left that possibility open depending on the outcome of the new investigative steps agreed upon when reactivating the procedure.

A Victory for Environmental Campaigners

Following this period and in light of the new submission from the Prosecutor’s Office, the judge has now decided to order the precautionary suspension of work on an urbanisation that has generated significant public opposition, particularly from environmental groups who view it as an attack on the environment.

It should be noted that these works have all the necessary permits from the Canary Islands administrations, including licences from Adeje Town Council, and are being developed right next to the protected area of La Caleta de Adeje, which is of great natural and archaeological value.

Source

Scroll to Top