Hermitage promoters do not rule out taking "the necessary actions" to defend their "rights"

BarcelonaThe promoters of the Hermitage project have assured this Saturday that they continue to work with the Port of Barcelona and the Gran Teatre del Liceu to present a proposal to the Barcelona City Council that "allows to advance in an alliance between the two entities", and in accordance with the agreement adopted by the board of directors of the Port Authority of Barcelona last Wednesday, rejected by the City Council. In a statement, the Hermitage assures that the project has been developed "in strict compliance with the law" and has complied with all technical and legal requirements. The promoters warn that they will not renounce to "exercise the necessary actions" to defend their "rights" and "legitimate interests".

The Hermitage has assured that it "will go ahead" with the Port's request, because it understands that the project "has also passed all the procedures, especially the public concurrence". The communiqué adds that they are doing so "with the support of these two entities as well as that of civil society and part of the municipal government team", and also "of the majority of the councillors". And "with the will to generate as much consensus as possible and always within the margin of the administrative process that has been going on for years".

This Friday the Barcelona City Council's government commission closed the door on the current project for the Hermitage. It was approved to deny the Port of Barcelona the agreement with the consistory that was necessary to go ahead with the concession that the Port approved on Wednesday. The Port's approval of the concession so that the museum could be installed in the Nova Bocana was conditional on the endorsement of the city council.

The decision of the City Council opened a split within the municipal government, because the PSC abstained. "The socialists are absolutely in favour of the cultural initiative in our city, also of the private initiative. Therefore, we are in favour of the Hermitage-Liceu project", said Laia Bonet, deputy mayor for Agenda 2030 and Digital Transition. For Bonet, both the Port and the City Council have been hasty, because it would have been possible to finish drawing the project. The PSC believes that the City Council should not have taken this decision today, but should have continued working on an alternative project, because today "a negative message is sent out" and a "risk of judicialisation" appears. Instead, Barcelona en Comú preferred to "close this administrative folder to open a new stage to make a new project" and also "to legally protect the City Council".