Navarra declares the land of the Tudela campus to be of public utility

The Government of Navarra has declared the Sectoral Plan of Supramunicipal Impact (PSIS) “Implementation of the Public University of Tudela,” promoted by the Department of Economy and Finance, to be of public utility and social interest for expropriation purposes. The agreement, adopted on August 26, 2026, is published in the Official Gazette of Navarra number 179, dated September 10, 2026, and enables the start of the procedure for acquiring the land necessary for the development of the university campus in Tudela.

The declaration is the prerequisite and indispensable requirement for the expropriation of the land, as required by article nine of the Law of December 16, 1954, on compulsory expropriation, which reserves the recognition of public utility or social interest of the affected purpose to the Government of Navarra. The agreement is further supported by article 81 of the Legislative Foral Decree 1/2017, of July 26, which approves the Recast Text of the Foral Law on Territorial Planning and Urbanism.

Plan Background

The PSIS “Implementation of the Public University of Tudela” was approved by the Government of Navarra in a session held on November 7, 2005, and its agreement was published in the Official Gazette of Navarra on November 25, 2005. In point 5.3 of the plan itself, it is established that the acquisition of the lands delimited within the execution units will be carried out through the expropriation system.

The current momentum is framed within the “Agreement between the Government of Navarra, the Tudela City Council, and the Public University of Navarra for the updating of commitments linked to the development of the UPNA Tudela campus and the construction of a new educational center in that locality,” signed in July 2025. In its eighth clause, the Government commits to acquiring a series of plots in accordance with the needs for the development of the campus proposed by the UPNA.

Content of the Agreement

The agreement, adopted upon the proposal of the counselor for University, Innovation, and Digital Transformation, provides for four measures:

• Declare the PSIS “Implementation of the Public University of Tudela” to be of public utility and social interest for expropriation purposes.
• Forward the agreement to the General Directorate of Universities and the University Service for the appropriate purposes.
• Notify the agreement to the Tudela City Council and the Public University of Navarra.
• Publish the agreement in the Official Gazette of Navarra for general knowledge.

The proposal for the declaration originated from the General Directorate of Universities on August 10, for the purpose of initiating the procedure for acquiring the land necessary for the development of the plan.

Appeals Process

The agreement exhausts all administrative remedies. An administrative appeal may be filed against it before the Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Navarre within two months from the day following its notification, without prejudice to the possibility of making a prior request to the Government of Navarre in the manner and within the time limits determined in Article 44 of Law 29/1998, of July 13, regulating the Contentious-Administrative Jurisdiction.

The agreement was signed in Pamplona on August 26, 2026, by the counselor secretary of the Government of Navarre, Javier Remírez Apesteguía.

With this declaration, the regional Executive clears the administrative path to acquire the land on which the UPNA campus in Tudela and the new educational center will be located, a project that commits the Foral Community, the Tudela city council, and the public university, and which seeks to consolidate the university offering in the Ribera de Navarra.

Source: Official Gazette of Navarre, no. 179, September 10, 2026, section 1.7 Others, page 32366 (Agreement of the Government of Navarre, of August 26, 2026).