The Llanes City Council has taken the first step to put an end to possible speculation about the proliferation of accommodation for tourist use in the municipality. The Municipal Commission for Territorial Planning and Housing approved this Friday a proposal according to which new licenses for vacation homes will not be granted after obtaining its approval with the favorable votes of Vecinos por Llanes and the PP and l PSOE abstention. The corporation will debate in plenary session next Wednesday, 16, the application of this moratorium, which will last one year.
The mayor, Enrique Riestra, attached to Vecinos por Llanes, hopes that the PSOE can change its abstention into an affirmative vote in plenary session so that the proposal can advance unanimously. However, your vote is not decisive since there is a sufficient majority for its approval.
Thus, once the plenary session has given its agreement, nothing will prevent Llanes, the tourist jewel of Asturias, from now choosing not to grant more licenses in urban towns that have more than five accommodations for tourist use per 100 housing. .
Stressed areas
The most stressed areas are Posada and Poo, with more than nine tourist accommodations, but San Roque, Barru, Llanes, Celoriu and Nueva are also affected.
In the rural area, they will no longer grant permits to the villages of El Cereceu, Picones, La Herrería and Rabiaos, since they have more than 25 percent of housing intended for vacation use.
Currently, Llanes has more than 5,600 places for tourist use, including apartments and houses, according to a study commissioned by the Llanes City Council at the University of Oviedo.
Enrique Riestra is clear about this. In statements to elDiario.es Asturias, the mayor was convinced that this is a necessary measure. On the one hand, to stop speculation and, on the other hand, taking into account the reality of the shortage of housing for residential use.
“Exponentially, over the last five or six years, Llanes has suffered a variation in the number of licenses. We commissioned a study from the University of Oviedo which clearly demonstrated, through scientific methods, that something had to be done,” he says.
Lack of residential housing stock
Its intention would be that once approved in plenary it would be possible to carefully observe how the legislation is legislated during this year and see whether or not there is the possibility of extending this moratorium.
“There is a duality between housing for tourist use and residential housing to which children from the plains cannot access because there is no real estate stock because speculation is starting to take place in a real way with that,” he corroborates.
The mayor contrasts the policy defended by Vecinos por Llanes in this matter with that of the opposition embodied by the socialist Antonio Trevín: “If we differ in anything from the PSOE government – Trevín was mayor of Llanes – it is that we are stopping the urban speculation and now we will also try to stop this tourist speculation,” he says.
However, Enrique Riestra places emphasis on legislators whom he calls to be “courageous” and “consistent” with this new reality.
“This story of tourist apartments is recent. Five years ago it was different. I recently heard some statements from the mayor of Barcelona on the review of licenses and I think it is very understandable that a review is carried out in the face of this new reality, but we must give tools to municipalities,” he warns .
Reviews similar to those of the driving license
The mayor of Llanisco compares this possible revision with the renewals of the driving license: “Just like renewing the driving license, you have to take an exam every ten years because there may be circumstances that change, I think that would be very practical if the Principality could regulate “this revision of licenses, because the contexts are also evolving”.
According to him, people buy houses for the sole purpose of speculating and this situation prevents access to residential housing, a situation that is already happening in Llanes.
“I think that if there was no tension with residential use, everything would be fine and there would be no major problems. But there is starting to be a tension and that is why I say that the legislator, taking into account constitutional rights, should assume these rights and give priority to residential use, which should take precedence,” adds- he.
Without wanting to anticipate future legislative changes, he believes that the most prudent thing is to start by stopping speculation, to stop a little and to stop thinking.
“We will also try to insert everything into the General Urban Plan and through a Special Tourism Regulation Plan. We will play our role, but we must be clear that the powers of the local entity are often very weak for problems of this magnitude and that is why I encourage the legislator to be courageous and consistent with reality “, he reiterates.
