Narva has not approved site for electricians' training ground
Narva's city government has told the Ida-Viru Vocational Education Centre that its planning for a training ground for outdoor-grid electricians must change. On both proposed plots, the current detailed plan does not allow electrical structures.
The city government of Narva, an Estonian city on the Russian border, has told the Ida-Viru Vocational Education Centre (IVKHK) that the planning solutions for its proposed training ground must be changed. The site is intended for training electricians who work on outdoor power networks. On both plots the school proposed at Kreenholmi 45, the current detailed plan provides for a green zone and a basketball court, not electrical structures.
What the school plans
IVKHK intends to begin teaching the new specialty in February 2027. As the school's director said earlier, the training ground is needed for practical instruction: students will learn to build, maintain and operate outdoor electricity networks. The training structures and poles would be left de-energised so students can practise safely.
The centre proposes placing the ground next to the school building on a plot of about 120 square metres, or on the existing basketball court of about 350 square metres. The project includes roughly 20 poles up to 12 metres high, various training structures and a facility imitating a substation of about 16 square metres. The area would probably need to be fenced off.
The city's requirements
In its reply of 13 October, Narva's Department of Architecture and Urban Planning said the detailed plan approved in 2004 does not provide for such a facility. The city has asked the school for more information: whether overhead lines will be strung between the poles, what voltage they will carry, and how much area the ground will actually occupy. A layout diagram and visualisations must also be submitted.
According to the city government, construction will require a building design and a permit. The detailed plan can be changed by drawing up a new one or amending the existing one. Another option under the law is to clarify the plan through design conditions, if legislation allows it; this procedure involves open proceedings.
The city government supports the idea of creating conditions for practical electrician training in Narva. In preliminary talks, IVKHK has already been invited to consider other sites nearby: plots owned by the city or the state, or the territory of a power plant, provided the owner agrees. The final location has not yet been decided.
