The Generalitat de Catalunya and the Ajuntament de Barcelona have agreed to jointly build four new elderly care residences in the city and allocate €17.5 million for school renovations, following a joint commission meeting at the Palau de la Generalitat.
Under the agreement, the new care homes will be located in Sant Andreu (Passeig de Torras i Bages, 135), Nova Esquerra de l’Eixample (Viladomat, 149–151), Marina del Port (Foc, 95), and near Glòries at the junction of Diagonal with Clot and Badajoz streets. Final details on bed capacity and opening dates remain pending further technical assessments.
A working group will be established to evaluate current and future demand for residential care across all ten districts, including the need for supported living units for older people. This comes as both institutions acknowledge that public provision currently falls short of rising demand.
School Infrastructure Boost
€17.5 million will be invested over four years to upgrade educational facilities, with €10.5 million contributed by the Generalitat and €7 million by the city council. The funding will support remodelling and expansion works at an unspecified number of schools.
Separately, a €41 million project will deliver permanent buildings for three long-term temporary schools: Entença, Gaia, and Xirinacs, all currently housed in prefabricated units in Eixample. The city will front the full cost between 2027 and 2029, with the Generalitat repaying its share of €33.2 million between 2030 and 2032.
Progress has also been made on the 30 Passos school in Sagrera, which has operated from modular units since 2016. A construction project is now ready, with approval expected within three months.
€415 Million for Besòs and Maresme Housing Regeneration
In a major commitment to social housing, €415 million will be invested over the next decade to accelerate the rehabilitation of buildings affected by aluminosis and structural issues in the Besòs and Maresme neighbourhoods.
Some 4,000 homes across 200 buildings require urgent repairs. Since the plan began in 2020, only 24 flats have been fully renovated, with 192 more under construction, a pace described as “extraordinarily low” by Mayor Jaume Collboni.
This is a national operation to settle a historical debt with the Besòs corridor, where thousands of families live in conditions unfit for a city like Barcelona., Albert Dalmau, Minister of Presidency
Public funding will cover between 80% and 100% of repair costs, depending on household income and the scale of work needed.
A new public company, majority-owned by the city council, will oversee the regeneration programme. It must be established by the end of 2026 under a prior agreement with Comuns. The Generalitat will transfer €15 million annually for ten years, subject to budget approval, while the city will contribute €265 million over the project’s lifespan.
Language Classes and Social Services Expansion
To reduce waiting lists for Catalan language courses, currently around 2,300 people per term, the city plans to increase its annual contribution to the Centre de Normalització Lingüística from €1.94 million to €3.09 million. The additional €1.1 million is expected to create 5,000 new annual places.
The city will also boost staffing and resources to speed up the processing of Individual Care Programmes (PIAs), essential documents for accessing disability and dependency benefits. The improvement is targeted for completion before 2027.
Both administrations have also agreed to share databases and streamline procedures between their respective social services departments to reduce bureaucratic delays.
Primary sources: govern.cat, Ajuntament de Barcelona, Ramon. Reported by Jordi Ribalaygue, Ana Basanta, Betevé, César Martínez, Jordi Palmer, L'Empordà.
