About sixty residents of Santa Coloma de Gramenet (Barcelonès) had to leave their homes on Tuesday afternoon due to the appearance of cracks inside their homes. These are two blocks at numbers 9 and 11 on Pirineus Street, halfway between the neighborhoods of Santa Rosa and Raval. In these two buildings, built in the 60s, there are a total of 31 homes and those affected by the cracks are 19. A good part of these neighbors, in addition, have problems of vulnerability and precariousness and the council has offered a housing solution emergency for 51 people, of which thirteen are minors. The residents of the other twelve apartments can stay at home, as reported by the City Council.
The residents of these two buildings had been aware of the cracks for some time and, in fact, had commissioned a technical report to evaluate the condition of the property. Last weekend, however, events have been precipitated. One of the affected apartments is a social housing property of the City Council and the tenant alerted the council.
The mayor, Núria Parlon, has appeared on the scene to provide support to those affected by farm number 9, while she reported that "those from farm number 11 can return to their homes today while awaiting the technical report." Furthermore, she insisted that "the diligence of municipal services has avoided a possible misfortune." Parlon has contacted the Generalitat and the AMB, who have given her all their support to manage the emergency housing.
Upon receiving the communication, the council requested a second technical report on the building and in agreement with the property administrator and the community of neighbors, the eviction was ordered for security reasons. At the moment some homes have already been shored up and the "final solution" for the building "remains in the hands of the community," according to municipal sources.
The council admits that the construction, from the 60s, had conservation and maintenance problems. However, a few years ago one of the properties was acquired in exercise of the right of first refusal and repayment to be used for social uses. Now, they explain, the priority is the "safeguard" of neighbors and the care of vulnerable families.
It so happens that the Santa Coloma de Gramanet City Council had already set its sights on this area of the city years ago, due to the state of the housing stock. In this sense, in 2016 a project was launched to rehabilitate very aged apartment blocks built between the 60s and 70s.
The main problems reported were obsolete installations, humidity, insulation, lack of elevators or "unworthy" condition of the facades. The City Council would be in charge of coordinating the works, from searching for companies, carrying out technical projects and ensuring the execution of the works, to facilitating different financing options.
The municipal services have declared an emergency situation and the decree of cessation of habitability to the different apartments on the property. This is a first package of 19 homes out of a total of 31 of the two staircases of the property. The building has a façade on Pirineus Street and Monturol Street.
The eviction has been decreed so that a specialized company can begin to shore up the floors that must be reinforced. Yesterday, municipal services carried out a second report on the state of the apartments, which confirmed the need to evacuate.
There are different profiles regarding property: resident owners, renters and even squatters. From Social Services, each case is analyzed individually to offer a provisional solution. At the moment, of the 60 people affected, the 51 who have requested it have received an emergency housing solution from the City Council, including 13 minors.
