It is reported in La Verdad that the councillor for education hailed it as a most satisfactory outcome, the choice of Zenia Boulevard Car park for the construction of a new school in Orihuela Costa.
But, in truth, it would appear to be anything but; just one more poor decision emanating from the city of Orihuela, the outrageous targeting of a shopping centre, one of the most successful commercial powerhouses in the whole of the province, without, it seems, any thought given to the very real possibility of the considerable economic damage that it could cause.
However, following a meeting between the Councillor for Education, MarÃa GarcÃa, and the Ministry, despite there being a number of alternative sites in the area, the decision has seemingly been made for the installation of its prefabricated classrooms on the municipal car park adjacent to the Zenia Boulevard shopping centre.
With the schooling situation on the Orihuela Costa close to saturation, many young students relegated to corridors and storerooms, and with the Department of Education needing to find an urgent solution, we are told that the construction of School No 20 will be complete in time for the September term.
For now, the intention is for the school to have a capacity for 450 students, which will mean an investment of 9 million euros, financed entirely by Valencia.
This new school, the third in Orihuela Costa, “will allow the CEIP Los Dolses and Playas de Orihuela to decongest, and therefore improve the educational care that the authorities are able to provide in an area of ​​growing demographic expansion,” they say.
The need for school places on the coast exploded following the onset of the conflict in Ukraine, which triggered the growth in the Vega Baja of the Ukrainian and Russian population and, with it, the number of students who needed to register at school outside the regular enrolment period.
The Ministry and the Municipal Council have therefore agreed that the new CEIP number 20 will start operating during the next academic year in prefabricated classrooms.
The assembly work on the provisional facilities will begin before the summer so that the centre will be ready by September. The project will initially provide 18 classrooms (6 for Infants and 12 for Primary), corresponding to 360 school places. The provisional facilities, the Ministry states, “have a maximum ratio of 20 students per classroom so that teachers and students can work and learn in more comfortable conditions.” Thus, when CEIP number 20 is built in brick, its total capacity will be 450 students and a ratio of 25 students per classroom.
The new CEIP will be created by moving students and teachers from the Los Dolses and Playas de Orihuela schools, transferring a complete line from each centre, so many of the teaching staff at Los Dolses and Playas de Orihuela will also travel with their students.
However, between now and the beginning of the new school year additional teaching staff will be taken on in public schools across the whole Community, a number of whom will be earmarked for the new centre.
While there is no doubt that additional accommodation desperately needs to be found for the Orihuela Costa’s school population, with a number of other available sites in close proximity, many local associations say that if true, they simply cannot understand quite why the council seems intent on putting the economic future of such a successful retail operation at risk!
Image courtesy: https://www.laverdad.es
Considering the majority of the year this municipal land is a campervan site, then where is the problem ?
The article makes reference to other more suitable locations to site the school, but fails to mention any. This school is being placed in the area were the demand for places is the most highest, so where else is there municpal land available in the surrounding area ?
From a business perspective, I am sure Zenia Boulevard will be delighted by this decision – it will create additional footfall throughout the year. The only issue is likely to be one of parking during the summer months due to the loss of the spaces, however people just need to be patient.
Local residents living a stones throw away who constantly suffer from the problems that Zenia Boulevard has brought to the area will not forget at the election box how Monica Lorente (PP) supported by Bob Houliston (CLARO) re-wrote the landscape overnight over a decade ago with granting approval for residential land to be converted to commercial land and the planning application for Zenia Boulevard to go through without any thought for existing residents or infrastructure. People don’t forget. Don’t expect an increase in votes on the coast for CLARO now they have joined up with PP for the local elections in May !