Initial Approval of the Special Urban Development Plan for the Arcelor area in Zumarraga

Initial Approval of the Special Urban Development Plan for the Arcelor area in Zumarraga

Following the corresponding tendering process, Sprilur, the Basque Government's public land management company, awarded KREAN the contract for technical assistance for the drafting of the Special Plan, Urban Development Project and Complementary Urban Development Documentation for plot Z.5.1 in the area of the former Arcelor Mittal steelworks in the municipality of Zumárraga in Gipuzkoa.

The Special Plan was initially approved by Mayor's Decree no. 264/2023 of 30 March, with an announcement published in the BOG no. 65 of 4 April 2023 and in the newspapers BERRIA and EL DIARIO VASCO of 14 April.

Sprilur, part of the Basque Government's Department of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment, acquired the land of the Arcelor Mittal company in Zumarraga in 2021, with the aim of regenerating it and promoting the creation of new substitute industrial activities that would generate new employment. This project is part of a Strategic Plan of Extraordinary Investments that Sprilur is carrying out, among others, with a view to prioritising the rehabilitation and regeneration of industrial spaces and business areas in disuse over the coming years in the Basque Autonomous Community. 

To this end, a Special Urban Development Plan was drawn up with three fundamental objectives in mind:

• Redevelopment of the Z5.1 Aceria1 area, regenerating the current facilities, maintaining their industrial use and facilitating the location of new economic boosting activities.
• Provision of a new access from the GI-2632 road to replace the current one, shifting industrial mobility to a point with a suitable scale and providing access to other nearby industrial areas.
• Discovery of the river Urola on its south-eastern boundary and generation of new public spaces around the river.

In order to improve the accessibility of the area and its integration into the urban grid of Zumárraga, it is necessary to carry out complementary urban development works on land which, in part, is outside the scope of the Special Plan.

Two external complementary areas are defined: one in the Municipal District of Urretxu and the other in the Municipal District of Zumárraga. These works are necessary for the uncovering of the Urola river and for the definition of the new access to the Arcelor site, which also serves as access to the Zumárraga industrial area located to the east of the GI-2632, in the Kaminpe industrial area located in Urretxu and in Legazpi.

Given the complexity of the execution of the shared urbanisation, an Urban Planning Collaboration Agreement has been signed between the three municipalities involved to facilitate the traceability and urban planning processing of the Special Plan and the related Projects.

The area of the Special Plan covers 99,851m².

The proposed new development includes the construction of a new access roundabout at the southern end of the area, the uncovering of a 100m long stretch of the river Urola, around which a green area of more than 8,000m² will be laid out, restoring the environment and creating a riverside promenade. In addition, a new public parking area will be created with a capacity of 68 parking lots.

In order to carry out these actions, it is necessary to demolish part of the constructions. The rest of the buildings could be maintained or replaced with the same buildability.