Commitment denounces that the PP has renounced to promote housing policies in the towns of Castellón

Compromís at the Diputació de Castelló has denounced that the provincial government of the Popular Party continues without promoting any of its own housing policies, despite access to housing having become the main concern of citizens and one of the major obstacles to combating depopulation in the province's municipalities.

The situation continues to worsen in the regions of Castelló as well. According to the latest data from the rental market, the average price in the province has reached 9.3 euros per square meter, the highest historical record registered so far, after increasing by 4.7% in the last year. In the city of Castelló, the year-on-year increase is even higher, at 6.1%, a trend that makes access to housing increasingly difficult for young people and families.

Lack of supply versus demand

The spokesperson for Compromís, David Guardiola, has regretted that, throughout the entire legislature, Marta Barrachina's government has rejected all initiatives presented by the coalition to help town councils recover empty homes and increase the supply of affordable rent.

"Housing is already an emergency in our regions too. Prices continue to rise while the rental supply is increasingly scarce. Faced with this reality, the PP continues to hide behind competencies instead of implementing measures to help municipalities," stated Guardiola.

The spokesperson recalled that Compromís has repeatedly advocated for the creation of a Provincial Housing Council to coordinate the different administrations, as well as a stable line of aid for the rehabilitation of empty homes in smaller municipalities.

"The PP always hides behind competencies, but the reality is that the problem is the lack of political will. If a provincial council can rehabilitate Civil Guard barracks, it can also help towns rehabilitate housing so that it becomes decent housing for families again."

An "inactive" role by the government

Guardiola has insisted that the lack of housing has become one of the main brakes on the development of the municipalities in the interior. "Many villages have houses closed for years while young people cannot become independent or families who want to settle cannot find any available housing. It is a contradiction that can only be resolved with brave public policies."

The spokesperson has given as an example the Diputació de Terol, which has already promoted a specific program endowed with one million euros to rehabilitate housing in rural municipalities. "We are talking about two provinces with very similar problems of depopulation, aging and difficulties in accessing housing. If Terol has been able to do it, Castelló can too. The only difference is that there has been political will there and not here."

Compromís considers that the Diputació must assume an active role in the fight against the housing emergency and depopulation, helping the town councils to expand the affordable housing stock and rehabilitate the hundreds of empty houses that exist in the municipalities.

"Without housing there is no rooting, there are no opportunities and there is no future for the rural world. If we want young people to stay in our villages, the first thing is to ensure that they can live there. The next Diputació will have to place this issue among its main priorities", concluded Guardiola.