The municipal plenary session of the Sant Boi de Llobregat City Council unanimously approved last week to create a working commission to advance the project to dismantle the Fecsa substation in the city, a historical demand of the residents. From the Sant Boi Veïnal Federation they trust that, after years of “false promises”, the project “now yes” will come true.
“For the first time we see a real opportunity because the City Council and the residents work together with a common goal,” says Xavi Ladero, neighborhood spokesperson. To define what will be done in the 16 hectares that will be freed, Ladero demands that a participatory process be opened so that “it is not the municipal government on duty who decides everything.”
The motion, presented at the request of the Sant Boi Neighborhood Federation, urges the municipal government and the general direction of energy of the Generalitat to set up a working committee and a negotiation. The entity would be integrated by the Sant Boi City Council, the Generalitat de Catalunya, Endesa EnergÃa, Red Eléctrica de España and the Sant Boi Neighborhood Association. Its objective would be to carry out the necessary pacts to solve the dismantling of the infrastructure and the high tension lines.
For its part, the City Council assures that it has recently held working meetings with Endesa and Red Eléctrica that allow it to have a first draft of the report on the actions that would be necessary to make the dismantling effective. He hopes that once these actions are agreed, an agreement will be formalized between the parties involved.
Speaking to ACN, Ladero recalls that the transfer of the electrical substation is an issue that has been on the table of the different municipal governments for 20 years and that nothing has been done so far due to “lack of political will.” He recalls that in 2007 the City Council signed an agreement with Endesa that “seemed definitive” to move the equipment to the industrial area of ​​the city, where “it would not bother anyone.” Ultimately, it was not carried out. “They justified it by the economic crisis, which is what we have always found when it seemed that things were serious,” he adds.
Despite the proximity of the municipal elections, the residents trust that “this time yes” work will be done seriously. Ladero appreciates that since the beginning of the year, when work began on the presentation of the motion, the dialogue has been “very positive” with all the political forces of the Consistory, which has resulted in the unanimous approval of the motion.
To decide what will be carried out on the 16 hectares that will be freed when the substation and military barracks are moved (the city council and the Ministry of Defense signed a protocol of intent last year), the residents demand that a participatory process be opened . They want the municipal government not to decide everything. Ladero points out that “there are many square meters” that will be freed. “It can fit everything the city needs,” he says.
For these residents, more than creating a new neighbourhood, it is about integrating the space with the rest of the city with new facilities, green spaces and social housing. Ladero recalls that this may be the last great transformation of Sant Boi and that the project must be well thought out so as not to be mistaken.
Unlike what was planned 20 years ago in the middle of the real estate bubble, they insist that it is not necessary to build 3,000 new homes, but to study what the real needs of the city are to respond to them. “If you have to build housing that is really accessible to everyone with the social rental formula, because of private homes, often empty, we already have enough,” he points out.
