The Figueres City Council has activated an urban planning route to unblock the future of the Carme Guasch i Darné school. The municipal plenary has given provisional green light to the Specific Modification number 3 of the POUM – Galligans, which specifies the location of a public educational facility in the Turó Baix sector. This measure aims to have an alternative ready if the judicial dispute over the current site is not resolved favorably soon. Mayor Jordi Masquef explained in the plenary that meetings have been held with the school's management and educational community. The proposal was approved with the support of the majority of municipal groups, with abstentions from ERC and Vox.
The decision has a clear educational and urbanistic reading: the municipal government wants the new school to be built where it is most feasible and in the shortest possible time, thus avoiding further delays. The center has been operating in prefabricated modules since 2006, becoming a historic demand of the educational community in Figueres.
The POUM already envisaged land for a new school in the PMU R7 Galligans, but without specifying the exact location. The current modification will allow the educational land to be defined now, anticipating the full development of the sector, scheduled for the 2033-2035 triennium, a horizon considered too distant for the city's educational needs. This will facilitate the acquisition of private land for public educational use and specify the necessary road infrastructure.
The municipal proposal also includes a study on urban segregation and educational planning in Figueres west, reinforcing the suitability of the Galligans sector as a response to educational planning. The current location has been questioned due to the risk of concentrating school vulnerability and an existing urban judicial dispute.
The new school project has a financial commitment from the Generalitat of 5,220,000 euros, approved in 2021. The current estimated cost amounts to approximately 5.8 million euros, with an autonomous contribution of 90%. The main challenge now is urban, administrative, and judicial.
The Department of Education has favorably reported on the POUM modification, with conditions such as the land being free of encumbrances and having adequate conditions. The proximity of the Galligans stream has also been considered, respecting a five-meter servitude strip.
During the public information period, objections were filed, which the municipal technical reports propose to dismiss. Once provisionally approved by the plenary, the file will be sent to the Territorial Commission of Urbanism of Girona for final approval.
