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Madrid

Updated Sunday, February 25, 2024-00:00

  • Opinion Resistance in Ermita del Santo

  • Events La Ermita del Santo shopping center evacuated after a massive fire at the Angus restaurant

The renovation of the Ermita del Santo to accommodate large residential towers in the place where a shopping and sports center is now located, very popular in the 80s and 90s, has had the residents of the area in disbelief for two years. continuous protest over what they consider

"a big shot" that would cause "gentrification" of the Los Cármenes neighborhood

, in the Latina district.

Yesterday, those neighbors took to the streets again in protest against the project and the position of the Madrid City Council allowing it.

However, in the Cibeles Palace, faced with the response that has been met with a reform that the Consistory itself already considers "controversial", they have decided to back down.

This was stated by the delegate of Urban Planning, Environment and Mobility, Borja

Carabante, who confirmed that he will give a "response" to the "dozens of allegations"

presented during the process opened in recent weeks.

«The height of the towers will be reduced, the towers will be relocated in the area itself, they will be further away from the existing homes.

That is, there should be fewer homes and generate more square meters of green areas,” said the popular politician in an interview with Europa Press.

However, yesterday morning, there was a new demonstration by residents in the Ermita del Santo area against "the urban planning push to build towers with 600 homes, mostly luxury

,

and

a macro parking lot for 2,000 new cars"

of the who blame the City Council directly.

The platform of those affected, together with those who demonstrated the PSOE in the capital, criticized that the municipal government has ignored both the allegations and the mobilizations or the collection of signatures because it prefers to continue with a "speculative" plan that "will aggravate the problems" that They already have the neighborhoods.

The planned action consisted of changing the use from residential to residential of a plot of almost 50,000 square meters between Paseo de la Ermita del Santo and Calle de Sepúlveda.

More than 600 homes would be built

in this

, divided into two skyscrapers of 28 and 22 floors.

However, Carabante pointed out that the displacement of these two towers, which the City Council is now proposing, will leave an "extraordinary environment" to give continuity to the park that is located behind the Ermita del Santo and thus become a space " open for neighbors.

"There is a surface parking lot that is a closed area and we are going to open it so that the neighbors can transit and

generate connection with that green area that is behind,"

said Carabante, who was confident that "it will comply with the expectations" of the neighbors.

From the PSOE, for their part, they indicated that the PP is "the diamond mine of all investment funds."