The Barcelona City Council has exercised its right of pre-emption and first refusal to acquire a residential building in Camp de l’Arpa del Clot. The property, located at Calle de Las Navas de Tolosa 339, consists of four residential units, a commercial space, and an attic. It has a total built area of 495 square metres, of which 343 square metres are designated for residences and common areas, and 152 square metres for the shop and attic.
The purchase has enabled the City Council to secure and maintain a property that is part of the city’s public heritage and was in danger of being lost to private ownership. It also guarantees housing for the three families currently living there and will provide a new home for a family waiting for a public social rental.
The right of pre-emption and first refusal gives the City Council priority to purchase properties in private transactions at the price agreed between the parties.
An inspection of the building concluded that there are no structural problems, but recommended a complete refurbishment of the apartments, including changes to the floor plans and common areas. As a result, the total investment rose to €1,188,300, of which €460,000 was for purchase and €728,300 for renovation. This brings the total cost to €2,644.19 per square metre, 34% below the neighbourhood average.
This is one of five properties owned by the Hospital Clínic that were auctioned in October, and the only one that received an offer from a buyer. This was a necessary step for the City Council to exercise its right of pre-emption and first refusal, as it had committed to do, to ensure that the families living there could remain and that the homes would remain in the city public housing stock.
As for the remaining four properties at auction, the Generalitat has agreed to purchase them in order to maintain public ownership of 51 homes in areas of Barcelona where it is difficult to build new housing. In these areas, the right of pre-emption and first refusal is a valuable tool for expanding the public housing stock.
The project will take eleven months to complete and cover the section of C/ Muntanya between the streets of Mallorca and Coll i Vehí, and in C/ Eterna Memòria (carrying on from C/ Muntanya), between the streets of Coll i Vehí and Freser.
The final project for the revamp is now ready and will entail the renewal of an area of over 5,500 square metres. The project should soon be approved by the government commission before being shared further and agreed on with local residents and various organisations in the neighbourhood, as has been the case from the outset.
The transformation of C/ Muntanya into a green street is part of the project to create a superblock in the neighbourhood, an initiative resulting from the participatory budget for the District of Sant Martí. This particular project is the first of the actions planned towards street-calming the area and will involve an investment of 2.5 million euros.
special desserts called 'coques'… Sant Joan is back for another year of revelry to celebrate the beginning of summer.
There are documents mentioning this feast in Catalonia dating back to at least the 15th century – it is unclear whether its origins are pagan or religious
but it seems clear that it is linked to the summer solstice
such as many other ancient events held in the northern hemisphere
has always been known in Catalonia as the shortest night of the year
this statement has come with a bit of inventive marketing
as it is not exactly the case – the summer solstice usually falls around June 21
While the night before Sant Joan is seven seconds longer than June 21
it was once the one with more daylight hours
at some point before the tweaks to the calendar introduced in 1582 – too many leap years caused a mismatch that was fixed with the introduction of the Gregorian calendar
the nine hours of nighttime in June will be very intense in Catalonia this year as usual – here's a guide and interactive map with the main activities and some of the best places to enjoy the action
Fire is present in many Catalan traditions
bonfires are lit in squares and crossroads in every Catalan town
Fire represents a way to purify and protect
but also to burn the past and regenerate new energies – also
a lot of people take their old furniture down to the square in order to burn them in the bonfires
Official licensed bonfires in Barcelona include:
one of the main bonfires will be set up at Parc de Vista Alegre
people will gather around the fire at Plaça Corsini
Many other bonfires in both the Catalan capital and elsewhere across the country will also be set up during the night
authorities have banned bonfires and firecrackers within 500 meters of forest areas
While the interior ministry recently admitted that the risk of wildfires is lower than in other years in 2023
Firecrackers of all kinds are lit on Sant Joan's eve as one of the most essential parts of the celebration
Children are typically the ones more excited about bangers
which can be bought in pop-up stores set up in streets and squares across Catalonia
In the past few years, a debate on the impact of noisy firecrackers on pets, some children and elderly people, as well as people with sensitive hearing, has led some companies to launch 'low-noise' firecrackers
which vets and animal rights activists recommend to use
Coques de Sant Joan are the only possible dessert for the 'revetlla', with 1.8 million units of artisan ones expected to be sold during the week
At prices between €18 and €22 if bought in bakeries or patisseries
they are the sweetest and most delicious pastries one can think of
mix it with butter and shape the dough into a long oval
New types of coques de Sant Joan include chocolate and pistachio
While not usually organized by local authorities
one of the key places every Sant Joan is beaches across Catalonia
The bravest ones will have a midnight swim
and the night owls will wait until sunrise
to watch one of the star's earliest rises of the year
any beach will be fine to have an idea of what Sant Joan entails
but especially Barceloneta and Bogatell – yet
local police will remove you from the area right after sunrise at 6am in order to start a round-the-clock massive clean-up operation so that early beach-goers on June 24 can make the most of their day
Some of the bonfires actually originate from the same flame: la flama del Canigó
This is part of a popular tradition celebrated in all the Catalan-speaking territories
Canigó is a massif located in Northern Catalonia
a historical part of Catalonia now located in France
a flame is distributed throughout all Catalan-speaking areas – the mountain has been important in Catalan culture and literature
when some communities wanted to spread a tradition that had been banned anyway
Given that Sant Joan is shared among Catalan-speaking lands
la Flama became a symbol of the resilience of Catalan culture
bonfires are lit in the Canigó mountain before it sets off on a journey to hundreds of towns and villages
which organize a ceremony to receive it in the afternoon of June 23
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The preservation and protection of heritage and the promotion of protected housing in the neighbourhoods of El Clot and El Camp de l’Arpa will be assured with the initial approval of an amendment to the General Metropolitan Plan by the Commission for Ecology
The previous heritage protection for both neighbourhoods was set out in the Protection Plan for the Architectural
Historical and Artistic Heritage of Sant Martí
an update was needed to the heritage protection regulations for the character of the two neighbourhoods
The update was also needed for defining measures to foster new protected housing
a suspension was introduced on permits for new buildings and major renovations so that the new urban planning could be drafed
The document now presented updates the regulations to ensure that both neighbourhoods conserve their identity
the amendment to the plan proposes 13 new heritage sets and 12 new individual elements
149 new plots are being proposed for heritage protection
bringing the overall number to 204 protected plots
The amendment to the plan also introduces rules that determine the urban protection of various corridors
settings and traditional façades with heritage value
The proposal includes 589 plots where any work or change would have to take into account the aesthetic and compositional criteria of buildings to integrate the architectural project into the landscape and identity of their façades
Of the 2,664 plots in the areas covered by the MPGM
the proposal includes protection for 793 of them
meaning that practically a third would get some sort of protection
One of cornerstones of the new urban planning is to favour public housing
It combines measures such as expropriation
quotas reserved for protected housing on unconsolidated urban land and the general classification of protected housing
The plan is for a potential volume of between 1,000 and 1,500 new protected homes
436 of them on the initiative of the City Council to guarantee that local people continue living in these neighbourhoods
Revision of effects for current urban planning
The document revises the effects for current urban planning and sets out a series of criteria for addressing these
The criteria refer to the relationship between the element and the façade
the heritage interest and consolidation of the element and the presence of party walls in relation to the façade
Plots given over to green space will gain another 3,000 square metres
while there are another 11,000 square metres for facilities
The project also promotes sustainable mobility and commerce and applies environmental criteria to increase greenery and biodiversity in urban interventions
An extensive participatory process was involved to create the document for initial approval
along with the main organisations in the neighbourhoods
Four sessions were held with members of the public
along with five sectoral meetings to work on areas such as facilities
There were also two feedback sessions and two exploratory walks
A monitoring commission has also been set up with the presence of the local residents’ association for the two neighbourhoods
the Federació d’Entitats and the Taller d’Història del Clot – Camp de l’Arpa
the historic centre in Malaga city and the area around Fuengirola marina are the three most expensive areas to rent a property in Andalucía
The price per square metre in these areas is 21.20
according to an analysis by real estate portal Fotocasa
All three are also in the top 50 most expensive places to rent in Spain
also stood out with an average asking price of 13.45 euros per square metre
"This is the first time the rent for a typical property of around 85 square metres in one of the most exquisite areas of Spain has exceeded 2,000 euros per month," María Matos
"These neighbourhoods show the existing interest in moving to live in a prime area where only the most privileged can afford the luxury," she added
Price increases in these areas have also been influenced by an imbalance between supply and demand
which is why price growth has been sustained over the past three years
Las Palmas and Malaga follow in their footsteps due to the sharp rise in rent
Seville is also home to some of the most expensive neighbourhoods in Andalucía
Nervión and Arenal-Museo recorded prices of 13.50
They are closely followed by Paseo Marítimo-San José-La Laguna (12 euros per square metre) in Cadiz city; Triana Este (11.30) in Seville city; San Matías-Realejo (11.10) in Granada city
Madrid and Barcelona are once again the most expensive cities to rent a property
The most expensive neighbourhood in the country is Madrid's Almagro
which reached a price of 24.20 euros per square metre
It is followed by the neighbourhoods of Goya
all of which are also located in Madrid city
the neighbourhood of El Camp de l'Arpa del Clot (23 euros per square metre)
is positioned as the fifth most expensive neighbourhood to rent a property in Spain
registering a year-on-year increase of 17.7%
Madrid's Recoletos (22.90 euros per square metre) and Sol (22.60)
along with Barcelona's Diagonal Mar i el Front Marítim del Poblenou (22.80)
El Camp d'en Grassot i Gràcia Nova (22.80 and El Raval (22.70 complete the list of the ten most expensive neighbourhoods to rent a property
The latter three overtake Dreta de l'Eixample (22.40) and Sarrià (22.30 two of Barcelona's traditionally more expensive neighbourhoods
The most expensive neighbourhoods in the country also include Universidad-Malasaña (22.20 euros per square metre) and Justicia-Chueca (22.20)
and Sagrada Família (22.10) and L'Antiga Esquerra de l'Eixample (22)
all of which are above 22 euros per square metre
Among the list of the 50 most expensive neighbourhoods in the country
contributing six neighbourhoods to the list
are among the 50 most expensive neighbourhoods
with prices of 19.10 euros per square metre² and 17.10
Valencia province registered some of the highest year-on-year increases in Spain
This is the case of the neighbourhood of Arrancapins (14.40 euros per square metre)
located in the municipality of Canet d'En Berenguer
which registered increases of 29.9% and 23.9%
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Work is under way to draft a document for the protection of the traditional fabric and architectural heritage of these two parts of the city
the goal being to protect their unique character and identifying values
The protection of heritage in these two neighbourhoods has so far been provided for in the plan for the protection of architectural
historical and artistic heritage in Sant Martí
along with the plans for the rest of the city
The aim of the new document will be to preserve the value and identity of these two spaces
bringing up to date the existing regulation which protects properties and buildings but which is mainly based on monumental criteria
The regulation will now include aspects relating to the character of the neighbourhoods
Both neighbourhoods retain a clear coherence which has been affected by some actions and urban planning decisions
The drafting of this new plan will enable the two neighbourhoods to remain recognisable in the future
The drafting of the document means that the issue of new building permits and major renovation permits in this area will be suspended for up to a year at most
to avoid any substantial changes in the two neighbourhoods
Work has now been completed in the section of Av
Meridiana between the streets of Mallorca and Las Navas de Tolosa - Josep Estivill
adding more greenery and space for pedestrians and sustainable mobility
The work completes the revamp to this long avenue in the district of Sant Martí
with the next stage starting in the district of Sant Andreu
where work is under way with local people to define the final project
Meridiana has more spaces for people to get around on foot
with a central section 9.5 metres wide that includes a segregated two-way bike lane
a parterre of 2.6 metres on each side and a row of large trees and lighting
Pedestrian mobility has also been improved with curbless paving and priority at the intersections with the streets of Nació
and new pedestrian crossings to improve connections across the avenue
To create more space for local people and bicycles, a traffic lane has been eliminated in each direction, as have bike lanes currently located on pavements. The new Meridiana also has two bike lanes for general traffic and one for buses and taxis on each side
With work concluding in the district of Sant Martí
with a new section reaching as far as C/ Felip II
The citizen participation platform Decidim Barcelona centralises proposals from local people and provides information on meetings to define the project
All the work completed along 1.7 kilometres of the avenue will mean 94,000 square metres of space will have been freed up
560 trees and 10,000 square metres of parterres and greenery added
The overall investment will be 28.4 million euros
6 million of which will come from the EU’s Next Generation funds
The transformation continues with the section which reaches Fabra i Puig
with the draft project to follow for the next section from Fabra i Puig as far as the Sarajevo bridge
The participatory process to gather proposals and input from local people and organisations will continue in this stage
Area of Social Rights, Education and Life Cycles
The avenue has more space for pedestrians and sustainable mobility