Located near the ski resort of Cerler and the park POSETS-MALADETAin the heart of the Pyrenees, Benasque is a postal landscapes. Much less idyllic is its real estate market, marked by Turned rentals and a overwhelming weight Of the second residence, which greatly complicates the things to workers looking for accommodation there. With that backdrop, your City Council has just given a green light to a plan that provides 2,200 homes.
A curious fact in a town of 2,300 neighbors.
What happened? That Benasquea town in the region of Ribagorza (Huesca) famous, has just made a decision that will mark its urbanism in the coming years. A few days ago his town hall gave the green light to the Partial Plan of Cerlerwhich includes several infrastructure such as a new deposit, improvements in the purification system, the treatment of water and some accesses and (the really important) the creation of just over 2,000 homes.
The news matters beyond Ribagorza is for four reasons. First, due to the scope of the project, which already It is presented as The greatest operation Real Estate of the Aragonese Pyrenees. Second, for its location, near the ski resort Aramón Cerler. Third because the approval of the plan concludes an convoluted process that dates back (with comings and turns) to at least A decade. And fourth, because Benasque is not just any town: it has been supporting a time serious housing crisis aggravated by him Huge weight that have the second residences there.
What do you want to do? The most important thing about the plan is housing injection. In total, it provides 2,198 free homes that will be developed in several phases: 856 to begin, 504 in a second phase and 838 in the third. The project also provides for the transfer of more than 3,000 square meters (M2) to the Aragon government to raise 29 official protection homes with an investment of about 4.4 million euros. In May the Regional Executive I already advanced that will be dedicated to the affordable rent for tourist workers as part of a major initiative with which it wants to create almost 490 homes in 43 tourist locations.
Is there anything else? Yes. In addition to the new homes, the plan foresees improvements in supplies, sidewalks and lighting networks. In fact in the same municipal plenary He unlocked the construction of a new water tank in the town, which will require works that the mayor He already warns which will be “complex.” The plan will also allow improving access to the clues and systems that will be in charge of purification, treatment, capture and water supply.
“The partial plan reorder everything”, summarizes the councilorManuel Mora, in statements collected by Diario del Alto Aragón. There is talk of a global investment of almost 20 million of euros and a period of execution of 10 yearsin addition to greater development Urban of the Aragonese Pyrenees. Not everyone considers it good news. Tuesday The country It echoed of the suspicion of environmental and neighborhood associations that more than development speak of pure speculation.
Is it something new? Yes. And no. The approval of the plans an important novelty, but this actually comes from behind, far behind. So much, that There are those who go back Its origins in the mid -60s, to the construction of the Cerler station and the commitments of urban use of the land. Since then changes, crisis and legal swings have occurred. In 2005 it was signed A first agreement Between the City of Benasque and Aramon, the Society of the Government of Aragon and Ibercaja that is responsible for managing the Cerler ski resort (among others) and over the years the project has continued writing New chapters.
“This full approval involves speeding up a project since 2015 signed and in which in the last ten years nothing had been done,” I celebrated a few days ago Mora. In fact, the urban plan will not only serve to lift new houses. Some of the projected homes have already been builtbut they do not have basic services. The promoter of the plan is Bensque Valley Promotion and Developmentthe society that is responsible for the exploitation of station.
What effect will it have? The big question. Benasque’s plan has caught attention for other reasons. To start because its 2,200 homes almost equal to the population of the municipality, where, according to The latest INE dataThere are 2,362 people registered. The country Clarify That its current real estate park does not reach 3,400 homes, a good part of them second residences. In fact it is The second town of all Spain in which this type of property has more weight.
Just a year ago several hundred people They went out to protest how difficult it is to lease an apartment in the small Pyrenean town, a complaint that made clear with a large banner in which “the Virgen del Pilar could be read, she cannot rent”. Despite its size, the Aragonese Statistics Institute (IAE) reflects that in 2024 in Benasque there were 2.613 “Places in housing for tourist use“, a fact that only Zaragoza exceeds in Aragon, with 4,246 squares.
What supposes that? That renting a house in Benasque does not leave cheap. Just a year ago The country He pointed out It was difficult to find a home for less than 1,000 euros. Today the most adjusted found in idealist are floors by 750 or 850 euros a month. Of course, the ads clarify that it is “seasonal rental.” Among other things that complicates things to workers who are forced to stay in the region, which has even led the entrepreneurs themselves claim that a “affordable” house for operators is guaranteed.
“Before it was difficult to find something, but now it is almost a miracle,” Recognize to The avant -garde Jorge Castellano, a worker of the ski resort who comments that he has some colleagues who have no choice but to stay in motorhomes despite the low temperatures of the Pyrenees. The problem is not exclusive to seasonal jobs and affects health or teachers.
Images | Wikipedia and JavierGimenez.com (Flickr)
Via | The country
In Xataka | In case Spain did not have enough housing problems, now adds another one: 15% sales go to foreigners
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings