First planning steps to definitively relocate the fire station in L’Eixample
The Commission for Ecology, Urban Planning, Mobility and Housing has initially approved the Amendment to the General Metropolitan Plan to establish the fire station in the district of L’Eixample and reorganise the urban greenery around it, gaining a new interior garden in the Esquerra de l’Eixample neighbourhood with the support of the municipal government, Barcelona en Comú and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya.
The start of the administrative process for this planning procedure comes within the major strategic agreement for the city, unlocking the future of various facilities in L’Eixample, such as the Escola Entença and the CAP Casanova, and ending the provisional status of the current fire station.
Definitive location for the fire station and reurbanisation of the surrounding area
This change in urban planning will see the facility established in its definitive location (provisionally located at the Parc de Joan Miró at present), on the site where Av. Sarrià, C/ Comte d’Urgell and C/ Londres converge. The new fire station will be on a facilities site of 2,360 square metres, with a total area of 4,300 square metres.
The new urban planning here will also compensate and reorganise the whole green zone anticipated for this area, gaining 2,685 square metres of new green areas in addition to the current 1,140 square metres of green zones here.
Calendar
The start of the amendment to the MPGM follows a first agreement reached through an urban planning covenant with the owners, reclassifying the site (expropriation was ruled out given its elevated cost, estimated to be at least 30 million euros according to the corresponding building potential for the area). The expropriation and urbanisation of the new garden in the inner quadrangle of the block between C/ Comte Urgell and C/ Buenos Aires and Av. Tarradellas is expected to be executed between 2026 and 2027.
Work on the fire station is expected to start in 2028, with the facility to come into operation in 2030.
Future of the Escola Entença
The agreement also unlocks the future of the Escola Entença, which will be located on an unused site in C/ Provença, sharing space with the new CAP Casanova and a healthcare facility linked to the activity of the Hospital Clínic Barcelona – Catalan Health Service.
Participation by local residents
In parallel to this procedure, a participatory process has been launched to promote public debate, with interested organisations, local people and collectives able to gain information and take part in the whole process.
