The residents of Pare Pérez del Pulgar and Torrent de la Perera streets, in the Trinitat Vella, are mobilizing again for the Trinitat Nord urban project, which foresees the demolition of several blocks and has left the residential future of dozens of families up in the air. A little over a year ago they received the letter initiating the first phase of the expropriation procedure and now they denounce a lack of municipal specificity regarding rehousing and compensation.
The plan contemplates the demolition of nine blocks built in the 50s by the Patronat Municipal de l"Habitatge and the creation of a green area. The urbanistic modification necessary to develop this action was initially approved in 2011, a date that has become the main point of conflict between the City Council and those affected.
The first phase affects blocks 5 and 8
The action begins with the demolition of blocks 5 and 8. In this phase there are about 40 people affected. Of these, only 13 would be entitled to a relocation home in ownership, since the municipal criterion establishes that right only for owners registered in those flats before 2011.
The rest of the residents who registered after that date will not access a rehousing apartment and will receive financial compensation. The foreseen amounts range between 100,000 and 140,000 euros, a figure that many consider insufficient to be able to buy another home in Barcelona.
The disagreement centers on the reference date
The affected parties maintain that the criterion applied by the City Council leaves them in a position of clear disadvantage. Represented by lawyer Francisco Valverde, they argue that the date that should be taken into account is not 2011, when the modification of the planning was initially approved, but the start of the expropriation, set for February 14, 2025.
With the current criteria, only one third of the residents could be rehoused in the new homes that are being built in the vicinity of the prison. The rest would be left out of access to an apartment despite residing and being owners in the properties affected by the demolition.
Neighborhood discontent over the lack of responses
The residents denounce "little concreteness" on the part of the City Council and have already met to assess what alternative they take "to be heard". The discomfort grows among those who see it impossible to rebuild their situation with the foreseen compensation or still carry mortgage burdens.
"If necessary, we will cut the La Trinitat knot" - Josep Maria López, association of affected people
One of the neighbors, Rachida Bakhat, warns of the economic impact that the expropriation would have in her case.
"Taking into account that I still have years of mortgage left to pay, this compensation will be considerably reduced for me" - Rachida Bakhat, neighbor
Pedro Vargas, owner since 2013, shares the same concern given the impossibility of accessing another home with the amounts proposed.
"With these amounts it won't be enough for me to buy another apartment" - Pedro Vargas, affected owner
The neighbors ask to extend the right to rehousing
The main demand of the group is that the City Council acts with a more flexible criterion and allows that those who arrived after 2011 also have the right to a rehousing dwelling. They consider that the strict application of that date does not respond to the current reality of the neighborhood nor to the situation of the families who will have to leave their homes.
The conflict remains open in one of the most sensitive areas of urban renewal in Trinitat Vella, where residents demand certainties before an operation advances that, in this first phase, already fully affects several tens of residents.