Political Dispute Over Delays to IES Las Lagunas Works in Torrevieja

The long-awaited improvement and rehabilitation works at the IES Las Lagunas in Torrevieja, included within the Generalitat Valenciana’s Plan Edificant, have once again become a political battleground. Both Sueña Torrevieja and the local PSOE have criticised the handling of the project, though for different reasons.

Pablo Samper, spokesperson for Sueña Torrevieja, has denounced what he describes as “a clear deception” by the Generalitat. He argues that after more than four years of paperwork, partial updates and broken promises, the regional administration now expects Torrevieja’s council to carry out the works between 2025 and 2027 with a budget based on 2022 prices. Samper believes this makes it impossible to meet the true construction costs, warning that more than 96% of the 9.05 million euro budget depends on allocations in the 2026 and 2027 regional accounts, leaving the financing far from guaranteed.

“Our students, teachers and families do not deserve more delays or excuses. Four years have already been lost, and we cannot allow the Generalitat to continue playing with public education in Torrevieja,” Samper declared, demanding an immediate update of the economic module of the Plan Edificant and written guarantees of full funding.

From a different angle, the PSOE in Torrevieja has also strongly criticised the process, but pointed the finger at both the local and regional Partido Popular. Party spokesperson Bárbara Soler stated that the PSOE has been warning for years about delays caused by what she calls “ineptitude and neglect” at both local and regional level. She pointed to repeated errors in the submission of technical reports since 2021, which she described as a “botched job” by the local government that led to further delays and unnecessary costs.

Soler also highlighted that despite the change in regional leadership in 2023, with the PP taking control of both administrations, the matter was not properly addressed until November 2024. She stressed that it was only last month that the council was formally informed the delegation of powers had been accepted, a decision she believes came after an accident at the school when a tile fell and injured a pupil.

“The PP local government knows how to put on a suit for congresses about reinventing education, but not how to put on a work overall,” Soler remarked, insisting that both administrations have failed the city’s schools and families.

Despite their political differences, both parties agree that the students of IES Las Lagunas have waited too long for the improvements they need, and that further delay is unacceptable.