Of these, 16 present a serious risk, 14 are classified as medium risk and the remaining 21 are categorised as low risk.

A significant part of the problem centres on the historic quarter, which houses around 30 of the buildings in question. The age of the buildings and the effects of recent heavy rainfall have led the town hall to take various measures to ensure their safety and preserve its heritage.

In March, the town planning department began to systematically review the most dilapidated buildings in the historic centre and classify them according to their level of risk in order to prioritise intervention.

To date, the town hall has done work of varying degree on 30 of the properties classified as high or medium risk, according to councillor Jesús Vázquez. The measures range from issuing notices to owners and imposing penalty fines to declaring buildings derelict and carrying out works directly through the town hall when circumstances require urgent action.

One such case is the work currently taking place on Calle Armiñán. The town hall is erecting a structure to secure the facade of a house, the condition of which has made it necessary to temporarily close the road to traffic as far as Plaza Abul Beka.

The work costs 78,000 euros, which the town hall is subsidising since the former owner's death without heirs has left the property without clear ownership.

While the matter is in courts, the town hall has covered the cost to prevent the deterioration from posing a risk on one of the busiest streets in the old town. The work forms part of some 140,000 euros allocated in recent months to safety measures on dilapidated buildings.

The town hall has also carried out actions on Calle Tenorio, worth 5,500 euros; Calle Espíritu Santo, 38,000 euros; and Cuesta de Santo Domingo, 15,000 euros.

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