Tortosa City Council will vote on 4 May on an initial approval for a specific modification to the Municipal Urban Planning Plan (POUM). This change aims to expand the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) Terres de l'Ebre Campus and help establish new Medicine degree studies in Tortosa.
Mayor Mar Lleixà announced the proposal, explaining that the URV requested the urban planning change to secure new spaces for the Medicine degree. The Catalan government has set the 2030-2031 academic year for the Medicine degree to start at the Terres de l'Ebre Campus, with an initial intake of 50 students.
The proposed modification reclassifies currently open land as community equipment space, compensating for this by reclassifying other equipment land within the same area as open space. Specifically, the university equipment will expand by 1,878 square metres. This expansion is split into two parts: 1,748 square metres and an additional 130 square metres already part of the campus. In return, a new green area of 1,880 square metres will be created near the Remolins fair pavilion.
Strategic Expansion for Healthcare
This modification will not alter land ownership or reduce public land reserves, according to officials. The change strengthens the equipment system in a strategic location, directly connected to the existing campus. The total area for open spaces will remain the same, while improving its overall use.
The Terres de l'Ebre Campus is bordered by the Ebro river, Remolins avenue, and Rafael Vidiella Park. The flood risk of the land was considered, but the expansion affects an area with direct physical and functional continuity with the established university facilities. There is no other continuous land near the URV campus free from preferred flow zone restrictions where an equivalent expansion could happen.
Mayor Lleixà expressed confidence that this urban planning modification will proceed, allowing the Medicine degree to start within the Generalitat's planned schedule for the 2030-2031 academic year. She described the arrival of Medicine studies in Tortosa as “key and strategic for the Hospital Universitari de Tortosa Verge de la Cinta, for the rest of the territory's healthcare system, and also for the future Hospital Universitari de les Terres de l'Ebre.”
In other council business, the 4 May ordinary plenary session will include only one motion from municipal groups. This motion, proposed by the CUP group, aims to ensure accessibility to shops and public spaces in Tortosa.
