Club La Santa in Lanzarote is regarded by many as one of the best sports resorts in Europe. It certainly has plenty to offer in terms of facilities and the mild winter climate helps to attract thousands of sports people to the island throughout the year. The club first opened in 1983 and has grown in stature and size consistently ever since, however a recent issue has brought a temporary halt to development work aimed at expanding facilities.

The resort has started building work to construct a raft of new facilities including a new sports hall, built to the standards required for international basketball and badminton, a brand new 50m Olympic pool to complement the one already there, an amphitheatre-style aerobics area, 4 new squash courts and an improved golf training area. Construction of a new hotel with over 90 rooms also started last year, but only last month the work had to be stopped. At the moment the resort's running track is also undergoing renovation but will be back in action from mid-June.

A change in the law means that the planning application for the building work needs to be resubmitted to the Spanish authorites. This is a minor setback for the resort which is used by many international sports stars including Rebecca Romero, UK's Olympic gold medalist cyclist, and Formula One stars Mark Webber and Jenson Button. The resort is an important part of the island's economy especially during the quieter parts of the holiday season but there's little doubt that the situation will be resolved quickly and work will resume shortly to add improvements to the complex.