The mayor of Badalona (Barcelonès Nord), Xavier Garcia Albiol, assures that the Generalitat has told them that "it does not want to spend a single euro" to have the apartments in the Canigó street block inspected, where two weeks ago a building collapsed and in which three people died.
He said this after a meeting with the residents of the more than 400 apartments that will have to be analyzed, which is why he has advanced that the City Council will help those families who cannot afford the cost of the inspections, of about 80 euros per apartment. . He asked them to organize quickly to act as soon as possible and be able to commission the work, and stressed that they do not have a sanctioning will, so they will not fine those who have carried out works without permission.
The City Council has called the residents of the Canigó street block, where last week the collapse of a block caused three fatalities, to a meeting in the courtyard of the neighborhood institute with a double pretext, to calm them down and give them instructions on What steps should be followed from now on? In this sense, he assured that it is necessary to act quickly: "We are not here to waste time, and these inspections must be done immediately," he said.
In this context, he has denounced that the Generalitat does not want to make any financial contribution to face the inspections. "We are in contact with the Generalitat, the latest news we have is that they do not want to put in a single euro, the words are fine, but the inspection responsibility is their exclusive responsibility," he assured. In fact, the council expected a positive response from the Generalitat, in response to the request that it assume the cost of the inspections to be carried out for a security issue.
Albiol added that the City Council will help residents who cannot cope with the inspection. "I would like, however, for the Generalitat to rise to the occasion," he said.
The mayor has given the residents the information he has today, given that there is a judicialized part, which affects the collapsed building at number 9 and in which three people died. The mayor has detailed that this Tuesday the judge who is taking over the case is scheduled to visit the space.
As for the block at number 7, which was evacuated last week when cracks were detected in the ceilings of some floors, it is expected that residents will not be able to return to their homes until the floors are secured. This is the verdict after the visit to the building by architects, firefighters, City Hall technicians and another architect who hired the community through the administrator. There are no damages to the rest of the entrance buildings.
However, this must be justified with guarantees, so they must be inspected. Specifically, it will be necessary to analyze the apartments at numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13 and 15 on Canigó Street, 2, 4 and 6 on Llefià Street and 110 to 121 on Ausiàs March Street. "We must act quickly," Albiol insisted.
The mayor has detailed that the apartments that will be inspected were built at the end of the 50s of the 20th century, in the midst of the crisis due to the price of steel and iron, and that this meant that many structures were not reinforced with the necessary amount. "In some attic buildings, some type of housing, rooms or storage rooms have been built, elements that cause weight, and there are also neighbors who over the years have modified the houses to make some walls disappear," he argued. This fact would be added to the lack of iron, which could make the structures weaken.
To make way for inspections, neighbors must organize through their property administrators. Once it has been confirmed that there is the financial capacity to face the inspection, the administrator must transfer the documentation to be able to process it with the College of Architects to establish the corresponding agreement and start the work.
Based on the inspections, it will be determined whether it is necessary to rehabilitate or carry out some type of action in the event that a serious anomaly is detected. In this case, Albiol has assured that work will be done to achieve the necessary interest-free subsidies or financing.
However, the mayor has stressed that the objective will not be to fine residents who have committed irregularities, but he has warned that they will act coercively with those who put obstacles in the way and affect the processing of property inspections.
