Charcos de Valleseco Area

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Leisure · Subcategory: Green spaces · Year: 2024 · Authors: Elsa Guerra Jiménez, Joaquín Casariego Ramírez

In March 2024 the so-called Charcos de Valleseco Area was inaugurated, after decades of neighbourhood struggle by the inhabitants of the nearby Valleseco district in their effort to reclaim a maritime area of industrial use (the former Ligrasa) to dedicate it to public enjoyment of bathing and direct contact with the sea. 

The works for this major coastal redevelopment began in June 2021 and followed the project called " Sol y Sombra " carried out by architects Elsa Guerra and Joaquín Casariego, which won the 2006 ideas competition convened by the Autoridad Portuaria de Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Santa Cruz de Tenerife Port Authority), the Dirección General de Costas (General Directorate of Coasts) and the Ayuntamiento de Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council), for the planning of the maritime front near the Valleseco district.   

The Charcos de Valleseco Area is conceived as a coastal strip open to the horizon, accessed via pedestrian walkways from Avenida de Anaga. It covers an area of 13,300 square metres and extends along more than 350 linear metres of coastline. It is configured as a curious stony marina equipped with vertical garden areas, bathing facilities, fountains emerging from the surface itself and multiple open spaces with grass, ideal for practising sports or various recreational activities. In the sea, it has two large floating platforms and jumping areas at different depths. The enclosure is protected from large ocean tides by means of breakwaters which, nevertheless, allow the marine flow to fill the existing pools.

The coastline running in the shadow of the imposing Paso Alto cliff, opposite the large harbour entrance, has been transformed, after many years of waiting and neighbourhood struggle, into an attractive public space intended for the marine enjoyment of citizens.

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