September 29, 2023.- The subdelegate of the Government, Pedro de la Fuente, has encouraged through a letter to the mayors of the province to study the presentation of projects that can qualify for the grants of the 2% Cultural Program that is processed by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda together with the Ministry of Culture and Sport. A programme that has increased its contribution by half a point compared to previous years, which means an increase in aid as evidenced today in an informative meeting aimed at the municipalities that was held in the Subdelegation of Burgos.
According to the collaboration agreement between the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda and the Ministry of Culture and Sport, the budget available is the amount obtained from the application of the percentage of public works promoted by MITMA. The Government has decided that this percentage will increase from 1.5% of the previous call to 2% of the current one.
In 1985 the Law on Historical Heritage established the obligation to allocate in public works contracts a part of at least 1% to works for the conservation or enrichment of the Spanish historical heritage or to the promotion of artistic creativity in properties declared Good of Cultural Interest. That percentage grew to 1.5% in 2014.
On October 11, following the VIII collaboration agreement between the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (MITMA) and the Ministry of Culture and Sport, the Royal Decree-Law was amended, raising that percentage to 2%. Half a point that brings with it a greater amount to invest.
The new call for the 2% Cultural Program is already published in the National Grants Base and has a maximum of 80 million grants, 20 million euros more than in the previous edition. 62.5% (50 million) correspond to the annuality of 2024 and the rest (30 million) to that of the year 2025.
The objective of the program is to cofinance actions of recovery or enrichment of properties declared Good of Cultural Interest, of public ownership and uses, or private non-profit ownership, but ceded to public use. Real estate belonging to the UNESCO World Heritage Site can also be chosen. The Joint Commission composed of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda and the Ministry of Culture and Sport expects that a total investment of more than 110 million euros will be mobilized throughout the national territory to carry out more than 100 actions.
The call was opened on September 1 and potential beneficiaries will be able to submit applications until October 15 on the website of the Ministry of Transport. This call is held in competitive competition and is aimed at local entities, autonomous communities, provincial councils, and public entities such as universities, consortia and public or private non-profit foundations.
The maximum funding that projects can obtain is up to 50% in the case of an Autonomous Community and up to 75% in the case of a local entity or any other public or private entity.
The evaluation criteria taken into account to evaluate the applications are 40 points for the technical quality of the project; 15 points for the improvement of the percentage of cofinancing; 15 points for the economic, cultural, and social activity they generate; 10 points for being complete actions for public use; 10 points without being comprehensive conservation actions; and 10 points for the opportunity to act.
GRANTS SINCE 2018
The subdelegate recalled that, under the previous program, 1.5% Cultural, three grants totalling 908,302 euros have been awarded in the province of Burgos since 2018.
Currently, the second phase of the restoration of the former monastery of San Salvador de Oña, owned by the Provincial Council of Burgos, is under way for cultural and tourist uses, which has received a grant of 518,364.00 €, which represents 60% of a total budget of 863,940.00 €.
In addition, the intervention in the roofs and urbanization annexed to the convent of Santa Ana in Villasana de Mena, which received an aid of 190,222.08 for a project of 253,629.44 € and the first phase of the restoration of the old Monastery San Salvador de Oña that received funding of 199,716.86 euros from this line for a total intervention budgeted at 399,433.72 euros are already completed.