- Never-ending saga of new Orihuela school drags on
It has been over a year since the Consell agreed to fund the construction of a new school in order to meet the high demand and acute surplus of children that is being endured by Los Dolses and Playas de Orihuela colleges, in December 2022.
More than a year later, the slow administrative machinery of the Orihuela Council has been unable to carry out the contract for works to adapt the land that must be transferred to the Generalitat to assemble the facility in prefabricated modules. Successive councils promised to give the matter their urgent attention.
As a result of their seemingly continued inefficiency, a basic service and a fundamental right is still being denied to more than 700 students who are being forced to endure double shifts in the dining room, without enough space as they continue to occupy every last corner of their classrooms, teachers’ rooms and school libraries.
It was said that the change in the municipal government in June 2023, almost 9 months ago, would make a difference, with the matter urgently resolved, but that was not to be the case, and just last week it was reported in the Spanish daily newspaper INFORMACIÓN, that there is not a single file currently open on the matter in the Department of Urban Planning, responsible for developing the bids for contracts.
With 3 previous sites considered unsuitable and the 4th site in need of clearance and modification, we are still no further forward that we were when the project was first muted.
The plot to accommodate the prefabricated centre chosen by the municipality is not the best. It is to be erected on the residential land on Calle Níspero, at the back of the Dialprix supermarket, the same plot that housed the Playas de Orihuela school building for 16 years.
Unfortunately, however, the land occupies a valley with a rainfall runoff. The Generalitat told the Council that, if its option was to give up that plot, due to its layout, a prefabricated school could only be constructed on one floor as, anything above this would breach the legislation on ease of access and evacuation of students, which is estimated at 400 students.
While the Department of Education agreed that the new centre should “decongest” the two schools on the Orihuela Costa, they clearly state that the process is in the hands of the City Council.
They confirmed that the contract to build the school was agreed last April, for the assembly, rental and dismantling of the prefabricated classrooms, to Rentals Barceló Sáez for 1.2 million euros. Designed on just one level and with capacity for 400 students, dining room, patio and common facilities, the construction period was just two months. If the land had been prepared by the council at that time the building would have been in use for the beginning of the school year, last September.
But it wasn’t until September that the Orihuela Council decided to offer this plot for the placement of the prefabricated building. “At that time, the Council announced that it was going to commission a topographical report to determine the necessary action,” said the Education Department, while waiting for the Oriolano City Council to “carry out the adaptation works.” We are still no further forward.
What is ironic about the whole matter, though, is that in an area stretching more than 15 kilometres from north to south such as Orihuela Costa, there never appears to be any difficulty for the council when it comes to finding plots of municipal land to sell to developers.
Why, therefore is this saga being allowed to drag on and the future of hundreds of young children put in jeopardy, with, seemingly, no end yet in sight?
