Conrado Escobar celebrates his first year in the Mayor’s Office of the capital. This conversation takes place at the F&G hotel, next to Puente Street, under the old ashlar doorways that were on the site, an operation that corresponds to his previous visit. … by the City Council, 20 years ago, and very close to Mayor 20, the plot acquired by Bosonit.
–Given the rush of a year ago, it is surprising that the work on the Hundred Stores is not underway
–Administratively they are underway, the emergency works are done and now it is time to do the rest. It’s going to be done. At the end of the year, beginning of next year.
–If we look at those dates, it means that we no longer have European funds.
–I think so because we are talking with the ministry to adjust the percentage of what can be used and what cannot. We are with fine craftsmanship of the percentages and it does not go wrong. The first part, Beti Jai, can begin before the end of the year and thus we take advantage of the work of Duquesa and La Glorieta. The process can be done with some logic. It won’t be all at once, but phase by phase.
–I suspect that we did not arrive in time to take advantage of the European funds from San Antón either. The deadline ends in a few days
–There are two requests, one from the Federation of Municipalities, of which I have been part, to urge an extension for many municipalities because there are many in the same situation and I hope to have the sensitivity of the Ministry. We had an added difficulty because we did not find anything similar to a project. It had to be done with great sensitivity because it is a commercial lung and the same thing could not happen as in Cien Tiendas. European funds are the instrument at the service of one objective, which is to make the street look good.
-This is not Óscar Puente’s ministry, right? (The Transport Department has provisionally rejected the changes in three projects)
-I continue to trust in the absolute loyalty of Óscar Puente and all the ministries. On issues that are already being implemented we have found absolute harmony. In the food plaza, in the old bus station, in the Bretón Theater although this one goes in other directions. We are following a reasonable roadmap. There may be differences but there can always be common ground.
-And the work on Sagasta Street begins
-Everything follows the course that had been planned with the Ministry, you have been made a participant in all the incorporations. The essence of the project is maintained. In the end it will be a street that will continue to fulfill its function of connecting with the North area but also incorporates a friendlier, more pedestrian-friendly concept.
Bosonit
«A very reasonable solution has been sought for everyone, the city and the company»
General plan
“I find the final approval difficult this term, but the initial one, for sure”
-Given the ups and downs that are expected on the road, cars are going to have to go slowly, yes.
-They are going to have to go slowly but they are going to go because, today, there is no alternative to that bridge, it has to fulfill its purpose.
-The historic center, on Sunday morning, is full of people with suitcases
-We are at the crucial point for the Old Town to flourish, however paradoxical it may seem. It is true that there are now difficulties around issues related to leisure, the use of terraces, but there is also a very positive side. After many years, the peris (special plans) are bearing fruit and there are more people living and our goal is for there to be even more. We are working on each plot of land in the Old Town so that it is transformed into housing. It is also true that the Old Town is more attractive to tourism and that will continue to be the case. We have to look for a point of balance, although some don’t like me talking about balance, because it is not about raising battles but about finding spaces so that everyone can coexist. What has to consume more effort on our part is that the living conditions are the best, but the first thing is that there is housing.
-The more homes, the more habitability claims
-It is a residential area but it is the Old Town and there is a certain weight of hospitality that I do not think is harmful if it is complementary to commercial activity and housing. It is another asset. There is a reason we are the best city for tapas, let’s not lose sight of this because it is employment and economy and, if there is not one, things will be bad for us.
-What different bodies ask for is that the rules be met. Why is it so difficult?
-I think they are being fulfilled. If since January there have been more than a thousand sanctions because the coexistence ordinance has not been complied with, that is because they are trying to enforce the rules. In parallel, we have started a campaign so that leisure is reasonable and that the first one to put a filter is the one who is going to participate in the leisure and that campaign is working. The latest data tells us that the intensity of the misuse of leisure and incivility is decreasing. Should we continue working? Of course. Clear improvements have also been introduced so that waste collection is better and causes less harm to the people who live in the Old Town. And the most important thing is that we are in direct contact with everyone. You cannot deny with data that something is being done.
Old Town
«We have to find the point of balance, although some do not like it when I talk about balance»
Shield
«If we talk about protecting our heritage, our shield, that of Charles V, must be protected»
-How will you notice that there are already two areas of special acoustic protection? (Historic Center and The Zone)
-First when the rules are met. Was it so difficult that we had not yet declared these areas since the last legislature? Now we have to comply with what is planned, some complementary measures. But the first step is to declare them and it has been done. We have completed the entire regulatory map required by law. We have done it this year, with good support from the groups.
-Will there be Bosonit on Calle Mayor 20?
-I’m not saying that. The company has said it. To make it possible, the work has been very intense. Pleasantly surprised by the involvement of the municipal units and it must be recognized that the company has done everything on its part to understand the reasons that came together. A very reasonable solution has been sought for everyone, the city and its heritage and the company, and very favorable for the activation of the Old Town. It is occupying a plot with a business project and another with a housing project in a particularly delicate area such as Villanueva.
-Have you spoken with Álvaro Siza (author of a plan for Villanueva in 2005)?
-I have spoken with your partner, Juan Miguel Hernández León.
-And with Tuñón? (winner of a project in 2003)
– With Tuñón for the Revellín area.
-Are they thorns left over from times past?
-The city is always an unfinished project. A project may have been out of scale at one time, but part of it may be very reasonable and it is now time to address it. The city has its rhythm. It is an exercise of responsibility to check what good we already have in the City Council. It’s reasonable to take advantage of that talent that was out there.
-On Saturday Bilbao opened its low emissions zone. What plan do we have?
-We are in the tender, we are on time. What I am clear about is that Logroño, with the indicators we have, is not a particularly conflictive area. All of Logroño. Another thing is that we have to comply with the law and establish the best location but our air quality is high, our noise level is reasonable, we start from a better position than Bilbao.
-The criteria that articulate the review of the General Plan are going to be approved, but some were already approved in 2021 and unanimously. Why again?
-Because the circumstances have changed, because we have decided that way with the rest of the groups and because we are going to give a push to the revision of the General Plan with Ezquiaga (the team that had already been used). There are aspects that are fundamental, that take on more consistency, industrial land and housing. These are the two aspects that have weighed the most when articulating the review of the criteria.
-For this legislature we are running out of time.
-I see definitive approval as difficult, but initial or provisional, sure, but we have to work. The General Plan is the typical job that nobody likes because it is not seen. We cannot have the city like this nor be at the risk of specific modifications. It is better to have a model criterion, of everything, for the next 25-30 years. And I insist a lot on consensus because the Corporation can change but urban planning needs stability.
-Why was it never explained which city shield was approved?
-It is a somewhat artificial debate. The approach is reasonable. The shield that we all know is the one that is going to be used
-But not the one that is going to be approved
-There is a historical shield and a used shield, the popular one. The historical shield cannot be renounced, the historical shield is there, but there is another one that is used. If we talk about protecting our heritage, our shield, that of Charles V, must be protected.
A moment from the interview, at the F&G hotel on Puente Street, with the ashlars recovered from the original building.
JUAN MARIN
«The criterion will be that the terraces are proportional to the surface of the premises»
– Should tastings be regulated?
-What they do have is to comply with health regulations for everyone’s health. I understand the complaints of the hoteliers, they are parties and it can even be considered that they are complementary activities.
-The terrace ordinance is under review. They’re not going to be any bigger than they already are, are they?
No, the criterion that will be followed, which is what common sense dictates, is that they are proportional to the surface of the premises more or less and that they have the best possible aesthetics. This has been discussed with the hoteliers and in this way we all win. The good hotelier is the main person interested in the city being clean, in the terraces being aesthetically appropriate, not being a nuisance… he is an ally of the city.
-How are the polygons going?
-The most advanced is that of Las Cañas. This week we will provide more administrative information. Electrification and lighting will be improved with 3 million euros because we are also going with the Government of La Rioja. Las Cañas is the one that we most urgently need because it is the one that has the greatest capacity to host companies. Industrial land had not been present on the political or urban planning agenda. We lived with our backs to the polygons. If we do not take care of the industry we will not have opportunities for young people.
-What are you most proud of this year?
-Of the team, of the city, of the excitement that is experienced on the street. During the festivities of San Mateo and San Barnabas I have breathed tranquility, normality, cordiality. We have a common purpose for the city that is articulated in several projects, which are everything that has to do with housing, with a commercial city, with industrial land, with circularity.
