The scare was tremendous. See the machines literally breaking down Can Valent, the farmhouse for which they had been fighting for three decades. A few calls were enough to confirm that no, they were not going to tear it down, the objective of the works was not that but the opposite, to consolidate it so that it would not end up falling; but they started with knock down the unoriginal walls (a matter that had previously been the subject of debate, since original stones were mixed in with the new billet).
The film would have been something else, very different, if before starting work, they had notified the Historical Archive Roquetes-Nou Barristhose who have spent years articulating the defense of the farmhouse. It was enough to have informed them of the date of start of the claimed consolidation workssomething that did not happen, as ugly Jordi Sanchez, president of the entity, who, with the passing of days -the convulsive beginning of the works was the past April 19th-, reads the situation in another way much more optimistic.
rural vestige
Vestige of rural past of Nou Barris, Can Valent was built in the XVII century when, excuse the common place, all that was fields. Against all odds, it remains standing. Of course, very very degraded and cornered behind the gigantic shopping center Heron City and the cemetery Sant Andreu. Municipal property from 1985the building has been boarded up for years and is waiting for a new life that has not yet arrived despite the efforts of the residents of Porta, the neighborhood in which it is located, and of the aforementioned Historical Archivepoured into protect the heritage of the district.
The president of the entity recalls that according to a previous agreement, the consolidation of the farmhouse -what the council is doing at the moment- should have been done last year. “It was one of the actions that was agreed with ERC, but in the end it could not be done due to a bureaucratic issue“, he points out.
Winners of the ‘Decidim’
As they do not give up, and if they are characterized by something it is by taking advantage of all opportunities, from the neighborhood movement they presented a proposal for the consolidation and reform of the farmhouse to the Decidim Barcelona participatory budgets. “From the beginning our idea was go beyond consolidation. What we are not going to tolerate is that it be consolidated and then abandoned, as happened in Can Racingthe farmhouse central park of Nou Barris, which is fatal again after abandoning it after consolidation“, says Sánchez, proud that his proposal to We decided to be the winner.
Winning in the participatory budgets has been what has made it possible for the consolidation in which they are now working to begin. “But what we are clear about is that our proposal is reach the end. Consolidate to reform and power fill the living space“, insists the president of the archive, who also adds that every time they speak with the council they agree with them and tell them that everything will be done, “but for now everything is by word of mouth”.
The importance of dialogue
On the matter of the part of the farmhouse that has already disappeared, Sanchez Has doubts. At first, it was clear to me that despite the fact that it was a wall added to the original construction, it had elements of the first walls. In fact, from the archive they had been invited to a prior visit to the works to explain to them which parts they considered essential to protect, a visit that never took place, something that also hurt them. “We knew that his consolidation project included pulling down the non-original walls, but we hoped to be able to talk about it during that visit that was never organized”, continues Sanchez.
After the first calls after the start of the works, dialogue is more fluid. “They have listened to us in several things. The first day we saw that they had begun to demolish a part without propping up the one that they wanted to consolidate and after our request they have done it. There was no archaeologistat first, and after our complaint the district put one up,” he adds.
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There is something, that yes, in which they have not paid attention to them. “We asked them to mark the works. What they are doing. If they don’t explain it on any ceiling, it’s normal for people who pass by and don’t know what it’s about to be afraid that they’re throwing it away, but when we asked, they told us they weren’t obliged,” he concludes hoping that from now on the dialogue with the district is more fluid, especially to work on the future of the space, where they have their sights set on the neighborhood, who wants not only that the farmhouse be filled with life again, but also to be able to decide on that life.
The deputy mayor Janet Sanzcouncilor of New Barris In the previous mandate, he responded during the presentation of ‘Barcelona, Ciutat Patrimoni’, a measure that precisely seeks to make demolitions more difficult to protect the city’s heritage, held the day after the controversial start of work, that the government’s will is “preserve Can Valent and let it be a neighborhood use space“. “We’re over. We have already sent an archaeologist to control the work. Full preservation is critical,” she said.