An 80-year-old cancer patient in Adeje is the latest to be caught up in the controversial Cuna del Alma project, which plans to build over 3,600 tourist beds on one of Tenerife’s last undeveloped coastal areas in the south of the island.
Jesús V. Galindo is the latest to face expropriation under the controversial Cuna del Alma tourism development in El Puertito de Adeje. The Compensation Board overseeing the project has demanded that he hand over the keys to his property, an old warehouse on the beachfront, to allow construction to continue on the massive resort plan.
Galindo’s son, Juan, has already made it clear that they will not comply and will take the matter to court if necessary. “This issue is taking away what little time my father has left,” Juan said, describing the toll the ordeal has taken on his elderly father, who is also diabetic and suffers from heart disease.
The dispute centres on the compensation offered: just €12,688 for a 66-square-metre building right by the sea, an amount the family says is insultingly low, especially given that the developer is selling luxury villas in the same area for up to three million euros. “They want to pay us less than €300 per square metre, when the market value of built property in Adeje is well over €2,300 according to official valuations,” said Juan.
A long and tangled process
The case dates back to 2021, when Galindo and his wife felt pressured to join the Compensation Board behind the project to avoid a lengthy court battle and forced expropriation. However, discussions did not end favourably. At one meeting, the family was informed that because of their small holding, they would not receive a plot in the future development and would instead face administrative expropriation.
Shortly after, they received the formal compensation offer. Meanwhile, in November 2023, the Cadastre Office officially removed Galindo’s ownership from the register, reclassifying the land under the parcels of Cuna del Alma.
According to the Adeje Council, Galindo’s property fell below the minimum size required to benefit from the redistribution of plots under the urban development plan, which triggered the expropriation. A report prepared by the council at the request of the regional Ombudsman (Diputación del Común) states that because his share was “very small,” he was only entitled to minimal compensation.
A project full of criticism
The Cuna del Alma project has already faced criticism for destroying archaeological remains and transplanting protected plants without a full environmental assessment. Despite this, work has accelerated under the current political leadership.
Campaigners plan a fresh protest this Saturday outside the mayor’s house. “They’ve ignored every public objection,” said Rubén Pérez of Salvar La Tejita. “This is an ecological disaster in the making, and local people are paying the price.”
