Interview with the Mayor of Yaiza

Óscar Noda, 43, has served on Yaiza’s council for 13 years, becoming Mayor in 2018. His Unidos Por Yaiza party was re-elected with an absolute majority last year and he also serves as an opposition councillor in the Cabildo. We spoke to him at Yaiza Ayuntamiento last month.

It’s been over a year since you were re-elected. What are your main projects for this term of office?

We’d like to improve public transport, adding two more lines to Playa Blanca’s internal service. The 30 route.

Security is another important factor for our visitors, and we want to increase the police presence in Playa Blanca. If you go to Las Canteras in Las Palmas, you’ll see regular patrols, which reassure the public and also offer directions and advice. We also want to improve the rubbish collections service and introduce the “fifth container” for organic waste. Finally, we’d like to finally draw up and approve a General Plan for Yaiza. It’s long overdue.

Is there a date for the opening of the Playa Blanca sports centre yet?

Not yet, I’m afraid. It’s 90% finished, but the company who won the contract to build it have continually asked for extensions and more money. This ended up with a demand for a further €3 million, which we simply can’t afford. We’re currently looking at the possibility of suing for breach of contract, taking on management of the project ourselves or opening parts of the centre, but it’s a difficult situation.

What about recent problems with sewage spills at the Town Beach and the bad smells issuing from the sewage treatment plant?

Playa Blanca is the fastest growing town on Lanzarote, and its sewage system is old and almost obsolete. There are two large cisterns underground, and the pumps can’t always deal with all the waste. Some blame has to fall on citizens, too, the system is blocked by wet wipes and paper, and businesses sometimes dump waste.

The Canarian Government have announced that they’ll extend and update the sewage works, but the general issue is an island-wide problem, and there’s a lot to do.

Will cruisers be arriving at Playa Blanca next year?

I hope so. That’s the request we made at international Cruise Fair at Miami this year. We’d like to see Playa Blanca receiving medium-sized “boutique” cruisers and large yachts, but it requires authorisation from the port authority.

It’s worth remembering that the harbour extension was not intended to convert Playa Blanca into a cruise port. But we need to stay competitive now that other destinations such as Greece and Turkey are improving their offers.

What about the taxi queues in Playa Blanca in the evenings?

This is a problem we’re well aware of, and we’re planning to grant ten new licences for taxi drivers. But unfortunately, it’s not as simple as that. There may be a lot of demand for taxis in the evenings, but at other times of day there’s very little.

That means the taxi associations need to organise shifts and cars. I’m also in favour of an islandwide taxi agreement. It’s ridiculous that a taxi from San Bartolomé, can bring tourists to Playa Blanca but is not allowed to pick up from here and must travel back empty.

Is there a project to widen the LZ-2 main road from Yaiza to Playa Blanca yet?

Not yet, although it’s something I’m very much in favour of. Objections to this sort of project often rely on the fact that new territory will be taken up by the road, but in this case the territory is already there.

The problem that occurred when the smaller road was converted to a cycle route was that the slower heavy vehicles that previously used it went back onto the main road, causing tailbacks.

What about the Los Hervideros road?

Nobody expected the coast road to El Golfo to collapse. I would have liked to see immediate action, and maybe a new road further inland, but this is a National Park and highly protected. The current Cabildo plan is to reinforce the existing road with pillars at a cost of €4 million.

But it needs to be done. El Golfo is an unmissable tourist attraction, bringing 2,500 visitors a day.

It seems as though the eternal complaints about lack of supermarkets in Playa Blanca may soon be solved.

Yes, we’re expecting Lidl to open in the industrial zone before Christmas, and Aldi on the Femés road a few months later. We also have Mercadona showing a lot of interest, possibly in a site near the Marina Rubicón. I’m happy that they come.

Housing is a big problem in Playa Blanca. What can be done?

It’s a big problem. As well as general workers and families, we’re also seeing professionals such as doctors and teachers turn down jobs because there’s nowhere to live. We do what we can, and that mainly involves granting land and licences for construction. There are parcels currently in preparation for social housing, but construction takes time.

And, of course, there’s only so much land. We also need to provide land for projects such as a new secondary school, which is very badly needed. Local schoolchildren are tired of travelling to Mácher every day.