Lanzarote News In Brief – Week 8

Yellow Weather Warning For Waves on Saturday

AEMET has issued a yellow weather warning for waves up 4 to 5 metres off the coast on Saturday. The wind will blow at 50 to 60KMH from the north east.

Aldi For Playa Blanca

The supermarket change Aldi is in the process of obtaining permission for a store in Playa Blanca in front of urbanización Marcastell in the resort. The store will be around 2,000 square metres on a total plot of 23,000. Work is also progressing on the new Lidl store in the industrial area.

Haria Carnival Will Be Broadcast Live

Haria Carnival, this Saturday, will be shown live on Lancelot Television, starting at 6:30 PM.

Crosswinds Cause Airport Delays

There were some delays on Thursday this week, mainly to inter island flights, when cross winds caused some issues to incoming and outgoing flight. The wind veered mid afternoon, and things soon returned to normal.

Woman Dies After Being Hit By Bus

A woman who was hit by a bus in Calle Taburiente in Costa Teguise on Wednesday morning has died in hospital from the injuries she sustained. She is thought to be foreign, but her nationality has not yet been confirmed by the police.

Cruise Ship Visitors Up 13% In January

71,000 passengers on cruise ships visited the island in January, an increase of 13% on the same month last year.

Defibrillators Being Installed At All Major Attractions

Defibrillators will be installed at the island’s seven main official attractions. A total of 11 have been purchased, at a cost of €18,000 and installation will take place soon.

Javier Reyes Acuña Dies

Javier was one of the island’s best known photographers, and anyone who enjoys seeing all the old images of Lanzarote on the Memorias de Lanzarote website, will have seen his photos from the 1940’s onwards. Javier was age 97 and lived in Haria for most of his life.

New Housing Law Approved

The new housing law that has been passing through The Canarian parliament has been approved and will become law. Three key provisions are aimed to create more housing for the growing population of the islands. The first is that the government will be able to purchase part built properties, where the developer has gone bust or the property has been repossessed by the bank, to finish them. Secondly, there will be the possibility to convert rustic land for development, as long as a certain percentage are giving over to affordable homes. And finally, local councils will be able to convert commercial buildings to residential use, if they have been unused for a period of at least one year.

€140 Million For Airport Updates

Lanzarote’s airport manager, María Teresa Cuenca, who is an aeronautical engineer, explained the plans this week for the airport updates.

Terminal 1 will have more check in desks, more gates and more comfortable areas airside for passengers. It will be joined to Terminal 2 airside, so passengers for both inter island and international flights can access the shops, bars and restaurants. Overall capacity will be increased to 10 million per year.

The airport offers employment to around 2,200 people currently.

Tinajo “Gravedigger” Arrested On Drugs Charge

A man and a woman, both 57 years old, were arrested by National Police this week. The man, employed by the Ayuntamiento of Tinajo at the local cemetery has been identified as a distributor of drugs. Police searches located 525 grammes of cocaine, 340 grammes of marijuana and €21.000 in cash.

Handbike Event In Playa Blanca A Success

This year’s 14th edition of the handbike race in Playa Blanca too place over the weekend, and 50 men and women took part. The athletes were able to reach speeds of up to 55KMH on Avenida de Papagayo in the town.

Jellyfish At Playa Grande

Bathers reported seeing small specimens of Portuguese men of war in the water at Playa Grande in Puerto del Carmen over the weekend. Lifeguards will raise the jellyfish warning flag when necessary and are asking bathers to check before entering the water. The arrival of the jellyfish has been blamed on the unusually high sea temperatures currently.

Sailboat Runs Aground At Papagayo

A sailing vessel ran aground on the beaches of Papagayo over the weekend. The boat was en route to La Graciosa from Los Lobos, and went ashore due to a navigation error. The crew were able to get off unharmed, but the boat was seriously damaged by the action of the waves.

Phone Kiosks Being Removed In Arrecife

The public phone kiosks in Arrecife are being removed this week. A total of around 100 were still in place, despite not being in use for several years, and the Ayuntamiento has now taken the decision to remove them.

We’ll add more news here as it comes in this week…….

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