The residents of Txomiñén have been asking for time for the city council to buy the convent of Kristobaldegi so that the building can be used to meet the needs of the neighborhood. In this regard, the Lanberri Neighbourhood Association has now taken another step forward: “We wanted to register with the City Council of San Sebastian a strong demand in Txomiñena with the following 1,045 signatures: The convent of Kristobaldegi must be for the neighborhood. We have met people from the neighborhood in person without using an online platform.” As Txomiñenea is a small neighborhood, the number of signatures is significant: Loiola and Txomiñenea have combined population data and 6,286 people live in this area.

It should be remembered that the nuns announced in April of last year that they would leave the convent, dedicating the area to both the town hall and the Provincial Council. Thus, the neighborhood association believes that it is “necessary” that the building is for the neighborhood: “In a few years in the neighborhood we only remember the unfulfilled promises in terms of population and social infrastructure. Tired of waiting, we decided to make our voice heard and tell the city council that it must enter into the negotiation on the purchase of the convent of Kristobaldegi, which was vacant last October, and make a public purchase, as it has done on many other occasions. This historic building must respond to the needs of the neighborhood, which are many and we are saying it many times.”

In addition, Lanberri highlights that the building can be used to provide adequate infrastructure to the neighborhood: “Some said that the convent of Kristobaldegi is in a flood-prone area. This, however, is not a sufficient reason to close the matter. After studying the project with several architects and technicians, we can confirm with certainty that the City Council has the possibility of acquiring this building and providing it with a wide variety of uses, in a three-storey building, which is only the lower one located in the flood-risk area. The other two floors above it are outside the flood risk zone, in addition, of course, to the new part built a few years ago.”

For this reason, it is clear that a wide variety of projects can be developed in it: “There are a lot of things that can be done legally on the ground floor, even if it’s next to the river: whether it’s neighborhood gardens or the warehouse we’ve been asking for for years from the neighborhood association. And, on the two floors above it, you can offer the services that the neighborhood requires, such as the cultural center, the old people's residence or the castle, to name a few. Even the mayor should know that this is feasible.”

More and more protections

“This is a demand that is gaining support,” says Lanberri: “In the survey we conducted in the neighborhood before the summer (which had 130 responses), the main concern was identified by the neighbors that the municipality does not observe a word on the issue of the public infrastructures promised. In September, during the press conference to launch the campaign for the Kristobaldegi neighborhood, 150 people joined us and today, as we said, we present 1,000 signatures on paper. The neighborhood is speaking clearly for those who want to hear it.”

They also denounced the position of the municipal government: “The mayor has said that the main need in the neighborhood is the ambulatory, but we want to answer that this cannot be an excuse to circumvent the rest of the public infrastructures. The building is built and the town hall has the perfect opportunity to offer something worthy to the neighborhood. We will continue to work with this proclamation that seems fair to us. In addition, we want to highlight that the City Council is working in March on what to do with the surplus funds from the previous year’s budget. Five years ago, in 2020, we did not forget how the 1.6 million euros that were destined for the urbanization of our neighborhood were destined to the Hondalea of the island.”

They also announced that they have called for meetings with “all political parties” to “talk about the issue and bring the proposal to the assembly.” “In it, each political party will have to make a clear public position on this issue, and in this sense, we call on the neighbors of Txominen to be attentive to the calls,” they add.