Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat de Catalunya have agreed to construct four new care homes and invest €17.5 million in school reforms. This follows a joint commission meeting held this morning at the Palau de la Generalitat. The agreement aims to address growing social and educational demands across the city.
Officials from both administrations, led by Mayor Jaume Collboni and President Salvador Illa, discussed these plans. They also laid the groundwork to unblock construction for four schools. These schools have operated from temporary modules for several academic years. These include Entença, Gaia, Xirinacs institute-school, and 30 Passos.
New Care Homes for Barcelona's Elderly
The Generalitat and City Council acknowledged the current public care home provision is insufficient. Demand for places continues to grow. They will form a working group to study existing needs for care home places in Barcelona's 10 districts. This group will also analyse the number of adapted flats required to assist elderly residents. The new care homes will be located in key areas. These include Sant Andreu, at Torras i Bages, 135, on the former barracks site. Another will be in Nova Esquerra de l'Eixample, at Viladomat, 149-151. A third facility is planned for Marina del Port, at Foc, 95. The fourth will be near Glòries, at the confluence of Diagonal, Clot, and Badajoz streets. These new facilities will increase capacity for Barcelona's ageing population. The exact number of beds and service start dates remain unconfirmed.
Major Investment in Barcelona Schools
Significant investment will also target educational facilities. The Generalitat will contribute €10.5 million. The City Council will add €7 million for remodelling and expansion works. This €17.5 million investment will happen over four years. It will benefit an unspecified number of educational facilities. Additionally, both administrations are working to finalise an agreement for specific school construction projects. The Generalitat will provide €33.2 million. The City Council will contribute an additional €7.8 million. This funding is for constructing permanent buildings for Entença, Gaia, and Xirinacs institute-school. These schools are all located in the Eixample district, home to 260,000 residents. The City Council will advance the €41 million cost between 2027 and 2029. The Generalitat will repay its share between 2030 and 2032. Furthermore, both executives agreed to speed up construction of the 30 Passos school. This school has used temporary modules in La Sagrera since 2016. A construction project is now available. Officials expect approval within three months.
Boosting Catalan Language and Social Services
The City Council plans to increase its contribution to Catalan language courses. The Generalitat runs these courses in Barcelona. The aim is to reduce the waiting list of approximately 2,300 students each quarter. The council will add €1.1 million to its Centre de Normalització Lingüística contribution. This increases it from €1.94 million to €3.09 million. This boost expects to create 5,000 new places annually. In social services, the City Council offers to increase staff and resources. This will reduce delays in drafting Individual Attention Programmes (PIA). These documents are essential for determining a person's degree of dependency. They also help access legal aid for disabled individuals. This reinforcement should be in place by the end of 2027. Both administrations also agreed to share social services databases and procedures. This will streamline administrative processes.
Besòs i el Maresme Rehabilitation Project
Generalitat and City Council officials will establish a public company. The City Council will hold a majority stake. This company will accelerate the rehabilitation of buildings affected by aluminosis. This structural pathology affects up to 4,000 homes in 200 buildings in the Besòs i el Maresme neighbourhood. Urgent reforms are needed to prevent structural damage and protect residents. This new public limited company will govern the plan started in 2020. It forms part of an agreement with the Comuns political party. It should be created before the end of 2026. The Generalitat will transfer €15 million annually for a decade. The first year's transfer depends on pending budget approval. The City Council will provide €265 million throughout the project. The total investment for this new entity is €415 million. The Generalitat's participation will free up municipal funds. These funds can then finance rehabilitation projects in Trinitat Vella and La Pau.
Enhanced Public Safety Coordination
The joint commission also discussed a new framework agreement. This agreement covers public safety collaboration between the Mossos d'Esquadra and the Guardia Urbana. This protocol replaces an older one from 2005. It promotes coordination between the police forces. This includes access to information systems, databases, and video surveillance. It also covers receiving complaints, processing proceedings, investigating citizen and road safety crimes, and assisting victims of gender and domestic violence.
The definitive measures for some initiatives still await working group conclusions. The creation of the public company for Besòs i el Maresme is expected by late 2026. These joint efforts aim to significantly improve public services and infrastructure for Barcelona residents in the coming years.
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Originally published by El Periódico Barcelona. Read original article.
