Yesterday, hundreds of residents of all ages opened the 9,000 m2 park of the historic Colònia Castells, in Les Corts. Delimited by Entença, Taquígraf Serra, Equador and Montnegre streets, this space has involved a municipal investment of 3.64 million. A large round plaza to host activities presides over the park, which has a novel combination of natural and artificial grasses to combat drought and flower beds with drainage systems to recharge aquifers in which 161 trees have been planted.
In addition to a large space with children's games, the park has an area for older people, a large pergola that provides shade, walking and rest areas (with 45 chairs and 33 benches) and orchards delimited by a fence. The hours will be from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. in summer and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in winter.
One of the important actions carried out within the framework of this urban transformation project is the conservation of a part of the homes of the old colony to highlight the historical memory of the area and the uses they had had. In total, 9 houses located at the Piera passage and the layout of one of the neighborhood's roads, which is accessed from Montnegre street, have been maintained. The uses of the booths will be defined later.
The old Colonia Castells was, and will continue to be, one of the historical landmarks of the Les Corts district. This varnish and patent leather factory and its workers' colony were installed on the Magòria stream – now Entença street – and were launched in 1923. Once closed, at the beginning of the 2000s the remodeling process began, which has It has gone through several phases and has moved forward with dialogue and the participation of neighbors.
In 2003, the Modification of the General Metropolitan Plan was definitively approved in the area of the Colònia Castells sector. In 2007, an action protocol was signed between those affected and the council that established the criteria to follow for expropriations. In the following years, work continued on the planning and uses of the space and in 2016, the municipal government promoted a debate with the area's residents that served to advance the expropriation and transformation process of Colònia Castells.
