Contentious court strikes out Barcelona's Via Laietana reform works

An administrative contentious court has revoked the agreement of the Barcelona City Council to reform Via Laietana, one of the main streets running through the city. 

The magistrate agreed with the appeal lodged by the Chamber of Concessionaires of Infrastructures, Equipment and Public Services, considering that any reform of Via Laietana would require modifying the General Metropolitan Plan through the Urban Planning Subcommittee of Barcelona, ​​an administrative body of the Catalan government.

The Catalan capital's 'Superblock' structure of mostly pedestrianized streets has been paid for "fractionally" by means of "an ordinary working project," according to the sentence, which means that the projects tried to "avoid the procedure of authorization" of the government's administrative body. 

In the eyes of the magistrate, the council should have agreed any reform works with the Catalan government and social entities affected by the project. 

The ruling is not a final one and can be appealed. 

Construction works on Via Laietan began in early 2022.