It was all happening down at the beach on Saturday. The political big guns were there on Los Cristianos old beach, and there wasn’t a towel or a pair of trunks between them. Mayor Reveron of Arona, the director of Tenerife coasts and assorted councillors were discussing the April closure of the beach for a clean up, it does tend to trap rubbish washed down by the rains, plus oil and debris from all the small boats moored up. At the same time, to the east, just past the sailing school, a small section of beach was sealed off for a while as Barranco de Aquilino poured out white foam, caused by someone emptying a private swimming pool.

Keep heading east, and there is a much bigger topic of discussion. Los Tarajales beach (above)Â rough and pebbly, stretching from the barranco to the Costa Mar Hotel, has been given hope of a 12 million euro facelift. Plans were discussed, in the prescence of the mayor, Â a week ago at the Arona Gran Hotel, in front of local hotel owners. The scheme would take 2 years to complete, and provide new sand, 2 pools on small headlands and the building of breakwaters off the coast to calm the sea for the benefit of bathers.

A make over has been promised before over the last 6 years but never came to anything, but this time there seems a new determination. The coastal authority is on a crackdown to remove buildings that break the 1988 law of the coast by being less than 106 metres from the shoreline, and there are a few old homes, still lived in, on the beach, as well as commercial shops and apartments nearer to the barranco. Just behind the beach there is also a sealed off block of 26 business units, all with apartments above, that has never been opened.

New entrants to this contest are the Los Cristianos neighbours group led by Leopoldo Diaz Melo. They are objecting to Los Tarajales being modernised as it would over commercialise the natural beach which is so close to Montaña Guaza, the councils plans estimates the improved beach could hold 5,000 sunbathers. The neighbours also say the breakwaters will stop the natural tidal turnover of the sea and could lead to water stagnating.

So, the battle lines are drawn, this has all the ingredients for a long drawn out wrangle, and it seems impossible to please all sides. Sometimes you almost feel sorry for these councillors and politicians – I did say almost!.