Gaüses residents oppose the school project because it would upset the town's "balance."

GausasThe planned school for 120 students in Gaüses has been met with opposition from a large portion of the village's just over 60 residents, which is part of the municipality of Vilopriu, for about four years. According to the residents, the majority opposes the project, citing the size of the subsidiary regulations for introducing educational use in the village. "It was done secretly and covertly," says Salvador Matas, architect and spokesperson for the opposing residents. "During the lockdown, they modified this plan, and the public disclosure period passed us by. The City Council operates in a way that lacks transparency in communication and distrust. They don't report everything they're doing, and you never know what they're up to," says Jordi, another opposing resident.

"There may be people who think, 'These people have lost their minds because they don't want a school,' and that's not true. We have no problem with the establishment of a school, but there are places and places, and in Gaüses, putting in a school of that magnitude, a private one... Sorry, but there are things that don't work; houses, small things, agricultural land, and we believe that if this project were to go ahead, it would be harmful because it would totally transform the dynamics and balance we have in this town. That's why we're against it," explains Matas.

"I can understand the developer. He's doing his thing and he doesn't care whether the residents like it more or less, but what's unforgivable is the attitude of the City Council. This is a time when we all need to consider a decrease in growth; city councils and public institutions need to start thinking about it. I mean, we're going to consume more water, more diesel because of all the vehicles that will have to come here every day, we're going to build more roads, more pollution... It's incomprehensible," says Montse, another resident who is against it.

The residents' opposition is also based on the fact that the plot where the school is planned lacks the access points required by regulations for emergency services to reach it. Regulations state that access must be available from two different roads, and that's not the case; there's only one. And if there's only one, it must meet certain requirements, both in terms of width and turning radius, which it doesn't," says Santi Casas, also an architect and another of the residents who oppose the project. "Every day, because students would have to come from outside, with parking... And we're not even talking about whether they hold concerts. There's also water consumption, the issue of security... The mistake is that they chose the wrong location," adds Matas.

Neighbors, recognized as interested parties

So far, the City Council has already rejected the project twice, "and on the second occasion, it was specified that the submitted project was not rectifiable and that a new one must be drafted," Casas adds. "We're seeing a change in the City Council's response. It's gone from outright denials of the first proposals to the requests for amendments it's now making," says Martí Abril, a lawyer who has been representing the residents opposed to the project for just over a month. "Just before Easter, the City Council recognized the residents as an interested party and sent us the entire administrative file for the building permit, and we're reviewing it. Now we're trying to appear in the business permit," the lawyer adds.

"From day one, the City Council should have already rejected the project. It should have said: 'This isn't possible because you won't be able to comply with it, let's not go around in circles and let's not keep it afloat.' Because, in the end, there isn't a bad relationship between the neighbors, but neither does the relationship that could have existed."

Judgment of intentions, according to the promoter

"It's just a smear campaign. It's the only thing they can do, because there's nothing. We have land where a school could be built, and we're presenting a project within the Urban Planning guidelines. They only have a judgment of intentions: 'You won't do that, you'll do something else.' It's not appropriate. They're very wrong. It would be much worse if a residential development were to be built there; that would affect those promoting all this much more," counters Ivo Sans, the school's developer.

"We brought up the issue of the firefighters because we're also promoting the construction of a bridge in this area [the plot where the school is to be built]; right now, if there's a fire, it would be dangerous. That's why the City Council said yes to this bridge project. We proposed it, and that's why we're now proposing it." Sans.

"Apparently, the developer has bought some land in front, which is undeveloped land, in order to build a bridge and cross the stream from the other side to access the school and create a car park. But all this is undeveloped land and these uses shouldn't be there. It's a long process in which there may be objections, and all this would only be to favor a specific developer - perhaps not, but it is very unviable," says Casas.

A while ago, Sans called a meeting with the neighbors to explain the project. "I don't want to do anything that isn't legal, but I think no one should tell me what to do. No one present had been told what their house should be like, and I found that people were telling me what my house should be like, what my project should be like, how many students it should have. Afterwards, I went door to door to talk about this issue. town: "It's not good enough for us anymore," they told me. But the town is already changing, and it won't be the same in ten years. Houses are being built that will likely be used as Airbnbs," Sans adds.

The City Council has not decided anything

For his part, the mayor of Vilopriu, Pere Pulido, declined to say much, but emphasized that no decision has been made. "I'm neither for nor against the school; I'm in the middle. We can't take sides. But what a city council can't do is refuse to grant a license to a project that complies with all the regulations," he says. "The developer drew up a project, and we've been telling him, 'That can't be right, that's not going to be done. It hasn't been done, no,' and he's been saying no," the mayor adds. "The developer may get tired of waiting, he's already waited too long, and one day he may bring us plans to build two or three houses with a pool on that plot," Pulido concludes.