The Mayor of Pamplona, Joseba AsironIn an interview with Europa Press, he addressed many current issues concerning the Navarrese capital. Among these topics, he assured that the Paseo Sarasate works will begin on July 15, 2025 or that this same legislator intends to resolve the future of the War memorial.
The Paseo Sarasate project will include the incorporation of two or more “reference” sculptures on the promenade. “We want one of them to be by a contemporary author of reference and another to be a life-size bronze sculpture with figurative language by Pablo Sarasatebecause currently the Paseo de Sarasate is dedicated to the violinist but there is no visual reference to the figure of Sarasate and we think that is something that needs to be resolved,” Asiron explained in an interview with Europa Press.
The mayor clarified that for the moment No further details can be given about the sculptures.“We have our ideas on the matter, but the editorial teams asked us to give them some flexibility and we did not think that was a bad thing. Also depending on the project presented by each of the teams and the interior spaces generated within the Paseo de Sarasate, it will be appropriate to choose one or another model of sculpture,” he said, while specifying that at least the sculpture dedicated to Sarasate would be a new creation.
Regarding the reform of the promenade as a whole, Joseba Asiron explained that “we continue with the same initial approaches, that is, the unique platform and tree conservationwhich are the inalienable principles.”
It is expected that By the end of 2024, the winning team will be chosenr, that “we hope to develop the project in two or three months, with which the works will be launched in the spring of 2025 and it is planned that the works will begin on July 15, 2025, that is, as soon as Sanfermines is finished, to conserve precisely this space during the festivities.”The work is expected to be completed within 15 months.” he stressed.
Regarding the work to complete the Pius XII’s sustainable corridorwhose start was scheduled for September, Joseba Asiron confirmed that the work will begin “immediately”.
“For us it is more than a beginning, it is an end, because it was something that was planned from the beginning. Pius XII’s sustainable corridor proposed conviviality, traffic calming, promotion of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport in that order and I believe that it is a system that has worked, despite all these catastrophic forecasts that said it would be a disaster,” he stressed.
INTERVENE “ENERGICALLY” IN THE TOMBS
On the other hand, Joseba Asiron raised resolve this same legislature the future of the war memorialand indicated that “we are coming out of a situation of blockade in which, fortunately, it seems that something is beginning to move, in one direction or another.”
“The important thing here is that the postures are a little ductile and a little flexible. For me, the fact that PSN change positionin one sense or another, is important” he said, after the socialists opened up to the possibility of demolishing part of the monument.
Asiron spoke out in favour of continuing the work started in this area at 2015-2019 legislature and said that it should be the citizens who decide on this location.
The mayor did not specify his position on the future of the monument in order to “maintain a minimum of impartiality.” However, he said that “at the Fallen, we must intervene energetically, especially because we must eliminate a whole symbology and solve a problem.” urban problem“.
“For me, any solution that respects these two parameters will be good. In other words, we have to eliminate the Francoist symbology that exists there and we have to solve an urban problem. To achieve this, there is surely a very broad range. And that is why I like the panorama that came out of the 2015-2019 legislaturebecause this range opened up possibilities ranging from the simple resignification of the building to its physical disappearance. Where we are going to be in this range is what the people must decide,” he indicated, to affirm that “we want to solve this problem during this legislature.”
RESOLVE THE ERRIPAGAÑA SITUATION BY 2025
Joseba Asiron also addressed the the future of Erripagañacurrently distributed between Pamplona, Burlada, Huarte and Valle de Egüés, and considered that “the time has finally come to put an end to empty words and get down to work.”
“We are responsible for studying the economic impact that incorporation of Erripagaña. And from there we must immediately launch the participatory process,” he said.
Asiron stressed that “the horizon is that end of 2025during a meeting between the four municipal councils and the Government of NavarreNow we have a final decision.” Regardless, he said that “it must be the neighborhood, through a well-informed participatory process, that must make that decision,” although he expressed his willingness to assume Erripagana as “just another neighborhood of Pamplona.”
Regarding the situation of the neighborhoods of Pamplona, the mayor stressed that “each” of them has needs. “Of course, we do not start from the same premises. Etxabakoitz district that Iturrama or the Second Ensancheand that’s something we’ll have to address,” he said.
The mayor specifically referred to San Jorge, because of the “problem of a neighborhood divided into four.” “There, we have already launched a competition of ideas. There is four teams that presented and we hope that they will present us with the proposals throughout the month of October, through which we will be able to fulfil the commitment we made with the neighbourhood that the neighbourhood’s proposals will also be incorporated into these ideas. This is important for us,” he said.
NEAR THE “LIMIT” IN HOMELESSNESS
Regarding the situation of the homeless, Joseba Asiron said that it is a “problem that concerns us a lot” and stressed, above all, that “it is a problem with global roots that cannot be solved locally.”
“It’s a problem that affects at least all European states and Pamplona is a small and medium-sized city. Therefore, Pamplona will not solve this problem,” he said.
Furthermore, he stressed that “after having made a huge effort to stretch resources a lotPamplona is very close to the limit of its effort.”
“I can illustrate this with data. For example, in terms of homelessness, in 2023, with UPN 1.7 million euros have been invested. This year, we are expected to reach 3.2 million. That is to say, this effort by the municipal government will lead us to increase investment in homelessness by 80%. That is why I say that we are already close to certain limits,” he said.
Asiron said, as an example, that “in the pension accommodation plan last year, the UPN invested 300,000 euros and we in the first nine months of the year we invested 600,000, exactly double, and we plan to reach the end of the year by investing 900,000 euros, three times more.”
Finally, after learning that the City Council will not have the installation of González Tablas for the homeless, Asiron clarified that it was going to close because “we cannot keep it open for the simple reason that it does not comply with the standards that the Government of Navarre establishes so that people can be accommodated there”. “We are looking for housing alternatives for these people. The effort is very great but we continue working to improve and optimize resources”, he assured.
