- The Green Santa Cruz 2030 Project will create a large area of green spaces and public areas
- The city will receive the majority of the space, while the rest will be used by businesses
- Cepsa aims to remain a key driver of the economic and social growth of Tenerife while also assuring energy supply security for the Canary Islands
The City of Santa Cruz and Cepsa signed an agreement today to study the urban regeneration of the lands where the Tenerife Refinery is located under a Green Santa Cruz 2030 project that would serve to transform the city.
The agreement signed between the two parties will see them work with the local government of Tenerife and Canary Islands' authorities, as well as all other stakeholders in the project, towards the creation of a large area of green spaces, public sports areas, and both residential areas and areas focused on tourism.
The project is a 'unique opportunity to complete and transform the city through an internationally recognized urban regeneration project that converts an oil refinery into the city's new green lungs.'
The scale and study of the project before any future works are carried out will require complex, detailed planning to achieve a stable urban plan that is carried out in progressive phases to meet the changing demand for different spaces and services.
Cepsa and the Canary Islands' government authorities aim to find a solution that takes all sectors into account, providing a stable framework for the project on one side, to find the best use of the lands for the city, while also guaranteeing the ongoing operations for the company as a key promoter of the economic and social development of Tenerife.
The Canary Islands have been a strategic market for the company since it was established, and it is able to remain as the energy supplier that the Canary Islands need.
The project will invest in the creation of new green areas and public and private space, to use and generate resources in an environmentally sustainable way, to revitalize the economy, and to create both direct and indirect jobs.
The proposed plan means that two thirds of the 560,000 m2 surface area will be public space, while the other third will be given to residential and other uses. Of this public space, the majority will be converted into green spaces, and the rest to other public uses including roads.
The agreement also covers the need to define how the planning must be carried out, the land planning, and the legal advances that must be made or modified between the public authorities and Cepsa to be able to carry out the Green Santa Cruz 2030 project in the due conditions of legal security and stability of the regulatory framework.
To this end, City mayor José Manuel Bermúdez will instruct the Town Planning department today to begin the study on how to adapt the city's design.
Some of the objectives of the plan include:
Link to the sea
⦁ Recovering a direct door between the city and the sea through a system of open spaces connecting the Palmetum and the Maritime Park, and the regeneration of the coast through a bathing area or beach, a sports port, and pedestrian and bike path by the sea, to create a multi-functional public space.
⦁ Bringing the sea closer through a 'City Sea Balcony' on the cliffs above La Hondura and the Anaga Añaza pathway (Cornisa walkway), creating a track especially for sports, linked to the free spaces, and including the extension of the pedestrian/bike path along the coast up to Añaza.
Mobility and accessibility
⦁ Adapting the road surface of the TF-4 road system for traffic from the port, to create a sporting and educational leisure space linked to the sea. The connection of this system to the free space and the Palmetum and Maritime Park will create a multi-functional space for the city's leisure, and in turn guarantee its relationship with the sea.
⦁ Creation of a new quick access point to the city as an alternative to the TF-4, located to the north of the Green Santa Cruz 2030 Plan, and a new public Rambla leading into the capital and serving as the backbone of the urban plan.
Infrastructures
⦁ Construction of a new transport hub, which will also help to carry out the future train project in the south of the island.
Public services
⦁ Creation of spaces for community, cultural, learning, health, social help, and citizen safety, as well as parcels of land set aside for protected housing schemes in line with the urban regeneration process.
Green spaces
⦁ Green axis creating a connection with the Ramblas in Santa Cruz and the Palmetum and Maritime Park.
⦁ Creation of a large green area to the north of the proposed site.
Sustainability
⦁ The buildings on the site will generate their own energy through renewable sources, and meet EU guidelines on the introduction of buildings with practically zero energy consumption.
⦁ Application of sustainability criteria for all both public and private work, such as the generation of renewable energies in public spaces for lighting and signs using energy efficient technologies.
⦁ Use of recycled water to irrigate green spaces and real time monitoring of energy and water consumption in the area as well as energy generation through renewable sources.
Economy
⦁ The regeneration works will have the support of La Laguna University and of local technology expertise through plans to improve its skills and experience to promote a local sector linked to the innovation of this plan centred around the Technology Park.
⦁ Cepsa will support the Technology Park in the development of its technology projects, in particular through the development of its projects office together with the University, other research centers in the island, the Industry Organization School, and the local economy.
Citizen participation
⦁ The development of the project will include the necessary participation from local citizens, listening closely to the neighbors in Santa Cruz throughout all stages of the project, to promote transparency and information exchange.
Since the refinery's operating units were closed for economic and regulatory reasons, Cepsa has not stopped investing in the Canary Islands, and its operations have indeed increased through the introduction of new business lines such as bottled gas and asphalts on the islands. The company has also increased its number of service stations, in turn increasing its presence in the Canaries and offering a wider range of services to customers. The company also has a direct fuel sales service and maintains a key position in the supply of maritime and aviation fuels through its subsidiaries such as Petrocan, Cepsa Aviación, and CMD. Cepsa has 550 professionals in the islands to help carry out all these operations.
In line with its 2030 Strategy, Cepsa will continue to employ its professionals at the Tenerife Refinery to carry out its operations in the Canary Islands, as well as to start up new company projects both in Spain and overseas.
The agreement guarantees Cepsa's operations in the Canary Islands, serving as the leader in the island's energy supply security.
