Córdoba gives the green light to the plan for the construction of new homes until 2029CORDOVA
The Plenary Session of Córdoba today approved the Municipal housing and land plan for the next 5 years, in which it is planned that 2,144 officially protected homes (VPO) will be built in Cordova. Of them, a third part, that is 750 homes will be executed by the municipal housing company of Córdoba, Vimcorsa, while another 6,500 free homes will be built. The document, which has already been approved by the board of directors of Vimcorsa, arrives at the plenary hall in a session that has not included political motions because the European elections are approaching.
The debate, on the other hand, has occurred in the approval of this plan that the president of Vimcorsa, Miguel Angel Torricoconsiders it essential for the development of the city and has highlighted that the investment will amount to 309 million: “The plan provides sufficient housing supply for the next 5 years,” he stressed. On the other hand, the spokesman for the main opposition party, Antonio Hurtado(PSOE) has criticized the document, understanding that it is not what the city needs and has announced that in the period of allegations its municipal group will present an alternative housing plan. The debate, which has been calm in general terms, has concluded with a small quarrel over the numbers of empty homes and Torrico’s reply on some of the measures proposed by the socialists such as the declaration of Córdoba as a stressed area. “This measure has not been applied by any socialist mayor in Spain because they do not know that it does not work,” he snapped.
In the plenary hall, the opinion of the president of the Citizen Movement Council, Juan Andrés de Graciaabout this plan that has finally been approved with the votes in favor of PP and Vox and the abstention of PSOE and Hacemos Córdoba.
De Gracia has reflected on the general approach of continue building housing, despite the fact that the population of Córdoba is not growing, which can translate into speculation or depopulation of traditional neighborhoods, and has asked specific measures regarding housing for the historic center, the periphery and neighborhoods over 50 years old, especially, Ciudad Jardín, South Sector and Fuensanta. On the other hand, he has warned of the dangers entailed by the accumulation of social housing blocks or polygons and specifically warned that this can occur in Huerta de Santa Isabel (O-4).
What is the municipal housing plan?
It is a strategic plan prepared based on an analysis of the reality of Cordoba in terms of housing and the needs collected among housing seekers in the city; carried out in conjunction with the PGOU, and which is part of the legal obligation of city councils to have a roadmap for protected and free housing that is planned to be built in the city in the coming years.
Now, once the municipal Corporation has given its approval, it will have a public exhibition period of 30 days, before returning to the plenary hall for final approval.
Vimcorsa hopes to build future VPOs throughout the municipal area, although more imminently it plans to do so on municipally owned land in Campo de la Verdad and the old Fátima prison. In addition, the housing company is negotiating with the Urban Planning Management for other land in the expansion area of the city, the Poniente area, where it has already built some developments.
Global investment
Among the 750 homes that Vimcorsa plans to build between now and 2029, there will be homes for rent, sale and accommodation for seniors. Furthermore, the Córdoba City Council wants to study the formula to facilitate access to these homes for the youngest.
The construction of this new protected housing park will involve a global investment of 212 million, of which 82 million will be municipal financing. To this amount we must add the investment that will entail the 16 programs that Vimcorsa will launch and that will raise the amount to 309 million euros.
The document that Vimcorsa now presents began to be designed in October 2022, although during this time it has had to adapt to the new urban planning regulation, the new Vive plan and the new organization of the Junta de Andalucía, which has also conditioned its forecasts. Torrico has highlighted the importance of programs aimed at the most vulnerable sectors and the fact that the housing stock is encouraged with sustainability and energy efficiency criteria.
PSOE alternative document
The PSOE councilor has said that the document arrives three years late, and is also “inconsistent” because “it does not provide anything new.” Specifically, the spokesperson regrets that the document do not contribute “anything to price containment”, that have increased by 13.8% in rents according to the Idealista portal, so The PSOE urges the Andalusian Government to declare the city of Córdoba a tension zone to implement reference prices with a 20% reduction. He also regrets that, despite the fact that the majority of the 5,000 families in the register of plaintiffs have low means and low incomes, the public social housing stock has not increased. For this reason, he suggests participating in the state plan that finances the construction of new developments at 60%.
Finally, denounces the increase in tourist apartments which is accompanied by an increase in rental prices (Torrico has denied with the plan data in hand that tourist homes are growing or that there are more empty homes), so he proposes limiting the licenses for tourist apartments and putting them up for rent 10% of the empty homes in the city (1,700 out of 17,600 according to the INE). In addition, he suggests renting the Sareb homes and reopening the housing office. “This government avoids one of Córdoba’s main problems: access to decent housing,” the spokesperson concluded.
The spokesperson for Hacemos,Juan Hidalgo, For his part, he has criticized that the PP has not listened to the groups that work for the protection of housing to prepare the document, nor that an opinion has been requested from the Social Council or the Council of the Citizen Movement, even if it was not prescriptive.. “The PP sticks to the minimum,” he stated.
The Vox spokesperson, Paula Badanellihas simply urged the government team to execute what is included in this plan.
