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Sabadell allocates 3.2 million to renovate 35 schools and remove fibre cement
Sabadell is preparing a new round of works in 35 public schools with 3.2 million euros from the Actualitza Escoles programme of the Generalitat. Most of the money will go towards removing fibre cement and renovating roofs, windows, and toilets, in a project presented one week before nearly 30,000 students return to class on 8 September.
The municipal plan provides for the removal of fibre-cement elements in two schools and the replacement of roofs in five others. Among the schools where this work has been pending for years are Calvet d'Estrella and Pau Casals, which still have roofs made entirely of this material.
The 3.2 million will also make it possible to replace windows in three schools and refurbish toilets in around thirty. Overall, the works will reach 35 state schools built before 2007 that meet the criteria set by the Departament d'Educació and have not subsequently undergone major refurbishment.
There is not yet a school-by-school timetable. The Ayuntamiento wants to agree priorities with each educational community before finalising the projects and will then have to process the corresponding tenders. In the case of fibre-cement removal, the work will have to be carried out while the schools are empty, making the Christmas and summer periods the most suitable times. The administrative deadline for using the funds runs until 2028.
This new allocation is in addition to the work carried out over the past three years. The Ayuntamiento puts the cumulative investment during its term in educational buildings and their surroundings at more than 15 million euros; around 12 million relates to interventions already completed or under way, and the 3.2 million from Actualitza Escoles will make it possible to tackle the next phase.
A significant share of spending has been aimed at combating heat. Sabadell puts climate-adaptation works at more than 5.6 million. Last school year, the installation of around 1,000 fans was completed in 453 spaces at around thirty nursery and primary schools, as well as three adult education centres, with an investment of more than 570,000 euros.
Those fans are joined by awnings and shaded areas installed at more than 40 schools and nursery education centres, costing around 1.5 million. The Ayuntamiento is also installing climate control at the 11 municipal nursery schools: Creu Alta, Can Llong and Joaquim Blume received equipment this summer, and the plan is to complete the rest before the end of the year.
The renovations are not limited to the inside of schools. During the term, more than four million euros have been allocated to their surroundings, including widened pavements, new pedestrian crossings, speed reductions and changes to signage. This summer, for example, the transformation of Granada square and the area around Escola Tarlatana was completed, at a cost of more than 653,000 euros.
The Ayuntamiento presented this assessment at Escola Calvet d'Estrella, where painting work costing more than 326,000 euros was carried out this summer. The next step will be to specify which works the 3.2 million from Actualitza Escoles will fund at each of the 35 schools and when the first building works can begin.