The Generalitat will cut down all the pine trees in the pine forest located next to the Annexa Joan Puigbert school in Girona as a definitive solution to the security problem detected in this space. The measure was agreed upon this Wednesday afternoon in a meeting between the Government and the Girona City Council, after another tree fell on Sunday due to the strong winds.
The Department will assume the felling action agreed with the council. While the intervention is not carried out, the City Council keeps the area closed and also the prevention perimeter enabled around the pine forest to avoid risks.
Three falls of trees since 2020
The decision comes after a new incident in this environment annexed to the school. With the fall recorded this Sunday, there are now three pines that have fallen in the area since 2020. After the last episode, the City Council demanded an urgent meeting to address the situation and establish a definitive solution.
The concern had also spread to the families. The school management warned in a statement that the situation had become alarming after the new fall of a pine tree. The center also recalled that it is the third tree to fall in recent years and regretted that the actions to solve the problem are taking time to arrive.
"The situation has become alarming" - School Management of Annexa Joan Puigbert
Criticism from the City Council on the lack of action
The Councilor for Education of Girona, Queralt Vila, accused the Generalitat this Wednesday of not having executed the anchorages that, she maintained, the technicians had recommended to stabilize the pine forest. The councilor placed the origin of the problem last summer, when an action was carried out to prevent the erosion of the natural space.
According to Vila, that intervention was careless and affected some roots, a fact that would have caused the fall of a pine tree. After that first episode, the City Council closed the area, delimited a security area and requested a technical study to determine what measures should be adopted.
Always according to the councilwoman, a first report recommended anchoring three specimens, but that action was not carried out. A second study no longer proposed intervening only on three trees, but to anchor the entire pine forest, a measure that also was not carried out.
The school denounces delays and lack of understanding
In the statement sent to families, the center's management also criticized the institutional bureaucracy and the lack of understanding between administrations to unblock a solution. The discomfort has focused on the accumulated delays since the first warnings and on the succession of reports without effective action on the ground.
With the agreement closed this Wednesday, the chosen solution now involves the elimination of all the pines in this space next to the school. Until the works materialize, access will remain restricted in an area sensitive for the educational community and under prevention measures to avoid new incidents.