The Ministry of Education of the Government of Cantabria is studying the reduction of the number of students who study in the annex building of CEIP Cervantes in Torrelavega as a provisional measure to address the risks indicated in a 2023 report and to comply with the evacuation regulations set out in the Technical Building Code.
In the 2025-26 academic year, "between 70 and 75" students use the first floor of this property. The problem arises because, according to current regulations, to accommodate more than 50 students in the annex, it would be mandatory to have at least two evacuation stairs, whereas it currently only has one.
The Minister of Education, Sergio Silva, indicated this Monday, in response to Vox, that this reorganization of students is "the most reasonable," although he admitted that "it is not what we would all most like," emphasizing that his absolute priority is the "safety" of minors.
As a definitive solution, the regional Executive is working, as a "priority" action, on the preliminary feasibility studies to build a new evacuation stair that connects to the first floor of the annex building.
These technical analyses are essential before the work can be put out to tender, which "is not simple" due to the way the property is built and its square footage, the minister explained. He also ruled out the other two alternatives that had been considered: internally connecting the two buildings or building an external walkway.
HERITAGE
On another matter, the Directorate General of Culture and Historical Heritage of the Government of Cantabria is developing a strategic plan, endowed with economic resources, to address the conservation needs of the community's heritage infrastructures and to "rescue from abandonment" "forgotten" assets. The document will include the current situation of each element, maintenance costs, and the investments and preventive conservation actions that each one requires.
This was stated this Monday by the Minister of Culture, Luis Martínez Abad, on another point of the agenda, when questioned by the PRC about "Villa Marisa," a property acquired by the regional Executive in 2007, located on the La Matanza estate (Valle de Villaverde), which will be integrated into this future strategic plan.