The La Bisbal d"Empordà City Council has taken the first step to undertake the renovation of the historic porch of Les Voltes, a private property located between numbers 1 and 31 of the avenue of the same name and considered one of the most recognizable images of the municipality. The plenary session held on Tuesday night approved the processing to initiate the action with the initial approval of the basic project for phase 1 of the building's restoration.
The intervention will focus on the facade, where the porch that identifies the town is integrated, and has a budget of 363,963.60 euros. This first phase has a subsidy of 99,000 euros. The complete rehabilitation project of the complex amounts to 1 million euros.
An action on a private building with heritage value
Les Voltes is cataloged as Cultural Asset of Local Interest, a protection that adds to its architectural and historical weight within the urban fabric of La Bisbal. The City Council has decided to intervene despite being a private property due to the visible deterioration of the complex and its relevance as a local emblem.
The mayor, Òscar Aparicio, explained that the council already spoke in July of last year with the owners to propose to them the transfer of the building and to be able to act on the aesthetic part, up to the lintel of the balconies. The City Council requested the transfer of the facade to be able to intervene, although it was not an essential requirement to execute the work.
"Phase two could be subject to debate if it can be assumed by the City Council or not" - Òscar Aparicio, mayor of La Bisbal d'Empordà
Aparicio also referred to the current state of the property and maintained that the complex offers a bad image of neglect. On the facade, detachments of the plaster and paint are observed, in addition to leaks and graffiti on the walls.
The current approval is limited to the first phase
The other two phases of the rehabilitation are excluded from the initial approval. The council will undertake this first stage and is studying whether it can also face the second. The rest of the actions should be borne by the owners. The project will now be subject to public information for 30 days, a period in which objections may be submitted.
The document drafted for the restoration will be made available to the owners in case they decide to undertake the subsequent phases. The possibility of obtaining a grant has been decisive in promoting a rehabilitation that had already been valued by previous municipal governments. The first feasibility studies were prepared by municipal technicians and the project was subsequently drafted by Crhoma Restauració del Patrimoni Arquitectònic, S.L.
Unanimous support for the recovery of a local symbol
All opposition councilors expressed their agreement on the need to act in Les Voltes. Bilal Bensahid, councilor for En Comú Podem, defended the urgency of the action because it is one of the emblems of the city and an essential element of its image. Francesc Cabrillana, from Tots x la Bisbal, defined it as a great project. Enric Marquès, from ERC, raised the convenience of holding a meeting to debate the different phases and specify which ones the City Council could undertake.
A key complex in the urban expansion of La Bisbal
Les Voltes was designed by Martí Sureda i Deulovol and, according to the Inventory of Architectural Heritage of Catalonia, it represented the consolidation of the town's expansion at the beginning of the second half of the 19th century and one of the main actions that gave an ordered appearance to the urban expansion next to the Girona road and the Daró river.
The complex remained unfinished and its last sector was built in the post-war period with a project by architect Pelagi Martínez. It is a neoclassical style building, formed by multi-family houses between party walls and structured as a street or a porticoed promenade, with two floors and attics. The same inventory states that the finishes and coatings have largely lost their texture and their original qualities, a degradation that the City Council now wants to start reversing with a first intervention on the most visible facade of the municipality.