Barcelona will extend the Borrell green axis due to the relocation of the Eixample Firefighters

BarcelonaBarcelona got to work this Tuesday to resolve one of the city's pending issues for more than a decade: the relocation of the Eixample fire station, which since it left the historic headquarters on Provença street is in Joan Miró Park. A provisional location that, furthermore, the justice ruled was irregular because it is built on green space. To resolve this, the Urban Planning Commission has definitively approved the plan to build a new station in the block bounded by Sarrià Avenue and Comte d'Urgell and Buenos Aires streets.

Despite resolving a conflict that had been open for years, the relocation of the Fire Station has not escaped controversy. A part of the neighborhood has shown its strong rejection of the proposal, as demonstrated by the flood of objections received by the City Council. Initially, more than 650 were received, which led the municipal government to restart the project by modifying some aspects. The new version that was definitively approved this Tuesday, however, has still received more objections: up to 1,700. These neighborhood concerns have led groups like Junts and the PP, who two years ago had shown themselves to be in favor of the relocation, to now change their minds and opt for abstention and a vote against respectively.

The proposal, however, went ahead with the votes of the municipal government, Barcelona en Comú, and Esquerra. To satisfy the former, the government has committed to completing the Comte Borrell green axis and having the pacification between Paris street and Josep Tarradellas Avenue ready before 2028. In the case of the Republicans, they have managed to ensure that the project foresees that half of the fire station's roof will be green and the other half solar panels.

The increase in green compensation is one of the keys to the new project approved this Tuesday. Thus, the plan—which also compensates for the private ownership of the plot with the construction of a building for commercial and tertiary uses—also foresees the creation of two new interior blocks: one between Villarroel, Comte d'Urgell, Buenos Aires, and London streets, and another between Buenos Aires, Josep Tarradellas Avenue, Borrell, and Urgell.

Reproaches for the delay of La Modelo

Although it is not expected to be built before 2032, the relocation of the fire station to this part of the Eixample is a key piece to unblock a large number of projects that have been stuck for years in the district. With this move, the puzzle affecting the plot on Provença street, until recently owned by the Clínic, could be solved, and a solution could be provided, for example, to the Entença school, which had been waiting for a definitive location for years and is now in prefabricated modules on the Model premises.

Precisely this Tuesday, an extraordinary urban planning commission was held, forced by Junts, Barcelona en Comú, and ERC, to request explanations about the lack of information regarding the pending facilities and housing in la Model. Although the initial forecast was that everything would be ready by 2027, residents have been denouncing for some time that the project is paralyzed. The councilor for Eixample, Jordi Valls, has emphasized that without resolving the case of the Entença school, the planned project cannot be completed.

However, he has reaffirmed the municipal government's commitment to the planned project —which includes, among others, a definitive building for the Xirinacs school, a sports center, a memory space, a nursery, and social housing— and has committed to meeting with the residents.