At first glance, the Castell de l’Oreneta park doesn’t look bad. It is well maintained and clean. Its vegetation does not seem worse than that of other wooded spaces in Barcelona and its surroundings, which have long been greatly affected by the persistent drought. But the reality is different. This green area of ??Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, Collserola foothills, is sick. He has ailments, some serious, in many areas. The most worrying is what trees and bushes suffer due to strong soil erosion, which leads to water and nutrient deficits. The problems also affect its heritage architectural elements, vestiges of its agricultural and stately past, which require updating and better integration into the landscape so that they can be valued and enjoyed by citizens.

Throughout 2023, the City Council deployed a participatory process with neighbors, entities and facilities around the park that has been taken into account for the drafting of a master plan, a roadmap of what must be done to give this unique enclosure a new life, preserve its natural and cultural wealth and ensure its future in optimal conditions. The document, written by Feu i Godoy Arquitectes and to which La Vanguardia has had access, details the actions, which total investments worth 22.6 million euros, of which 7.2 million are for general actions of the highest priority and 6 .1 million for others considered preferential, distributed by areas. Their execution depends on the municipal government activating them with their respective budget items. In parallel, a new governance space has been created to share the decisions made.

Once a week, Antonio Moral and Caridad López, retirees, go to the Castell de l’Oreneta park. They go up by bus from the Santa Eulàlia neighborhood of L’Hospitalet, where they live, and go down on foot. “We love it, we come, take a walk and have lunch here,” he says. “It’s beautiful, it looks like a mountain,” he adds, “and now it’s better than two years ago, they have pruned the trees and fixed some paths.” He refers to the controversial works carried out in 2022, which sought, in addition to adapting the paths, to improve water drainage to achieve greater infiltration.

The master plan is based on a diagnosis of the state of the park in different areas: urban planning, urban environment and access, architectural heritage, hydrogeology, water management, vegetation, fauna and biodiversity, roads and accessibility, furniture, services, citizen uses…

“The evolutionary problem is evident,” the document states. Soil erosion caused by the abrupt relief, the poor containment of the slopes, the lack of retention, lamination and infiltration systems for rainwater in the terrain and without a drainage system designed to allow it to remain in the park itself, Instead of throwing it away without the vegetation benefiting, it endangers the survival of current species.” And he adds: “If we add to these factors that the pH of the soil is acidic, that the thickness is increasingly smaller and that its fertility and porosity are practically zero due to the strong compaction, then the difficulty for spontaneous plant development becomes enormous. difficult”.

In the analysis it was also confirmed that “there is little variety of plant species for such a large park.” It has 17.4 hectares, similar to that of Ciutadella, of which 11 are green areas. The rest corresponds to roads, equipment and protection systems. Stone and white pines and oaks predominate. There are also some oak trees. There is a lack of herbaceous species due to the steep slopes and strong erosion. The document proposes removing invasive plants, which have proliferated, and making selective plantations in areas that have been depopulated.

Correcting soil problems is, therefore, a key action for the future of the park and a good part of the proposed interventions go in this direction, which means acting on slopes, walls, paths, drainage, water collection channels, torrents …

Despite its value, the Castell de l’Oreneta park is largely unknown. Thousands of people pass under it every day in their cars as the Ronda de Dalt crosses it in its southern part through a tunnel. But few visit it. The influx during the week is low, especially from some neighbors and schoolchildren in the area. “We often come to spend our dogs and other people’s time, it is a very good park, almost like being in Collserola,” explains Joan Basa, a resident of Sarrià. “It is correct, with its children’s areas in good condition and very clean if we compare it with other parks in the city,” continues this young man, who assures that bottles are also made in this one of which “there is no trace left.” Carlota Campi, who accompanies him, adds that “although many wild boars come down, everything is spotless.” The plan points out, however, that the presence of these animals – and also dogs – causes damage to the land.

On weekends it receives more visitors, but not many, about 500 at most each morning, according to the document. One of its attractions is the little train, the Tren de l’Oreneta, from the Center d’Estudis Modelisme Vapor Barcelona, ??open on Sunday mornings. “We have been here for 43 years, a couple of years after the City Council took over the park and opened it,” highlights the president of the entity, Josep Miquel Arregui. Together with Enric Alfaro, a retired metallurgist, he inspects the vehicles, true miniature railway jewels. “We want to continue here,” says Arregui, who believes that the presence of this attraction provides unique value to the park. To do this, a new document must be signed with the City Council because the current agreement expires in 2024. Its possible declaration as a Cultural Asset of Local Interest (BCIL) is in process. The master plan advocates maintaining and improving this characteristic facility.

Only the vestiges of the castle and part of its access road are in the Heritage Catalog (which includes several retaining walls with ceramic arches in the part closest to the Betània school) and the Casa del Porter –occupied–, the tower and the walls of the Montevideo street access. The master plan proposes to restore them. He also proposes to “value the rest of the elements and constructions of the old historical farms that today make up the park.” The most notable are the threshing floor, the fountains, the rotunda and the staircase-terrace of the old Can Bonavista estate and the amphitheatre, stairs, old bridge and surroundings of the castle, which, he points out, should be catalogued. The master plan also proposes rehabilitating the unlisted parts of these two properties and their surroundings, which may accommodate uses associated with the park, in addition to the Casa Oliva, near the little train.

Another notable action is the consolidation of existing dry stone walls, both for the heritage interest that is recognized in this construction technique, UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of Humanity since 2018, as well as for its stabilizing function of the terrain and for its historical link with the agricultural past of the place. Some remains of this type have already been recovered throughout the park.

The document also defends the recovery of the water mines, now closed, and includes them as priority works. The purpose is to integrate them into the operation of the park and its water and irrigation management.

Regarding the adaptation and creation of itineraries, two newly created interpretive ones are proposed (one focused on botany and another on biodiversity) and a third dedicated to heritage elements that explains the past of the two estates that originated the park. The objective is for visitors to be able to tour the park and easily learn about the valuable aspects it contains and that make it unique. Likewise, it is proposed to repair and consolidate the roads of the main route and renew all the signage.

To improve connectivity with the environment, which the analysis carried out shows can be greatly improved, six new accesses are included. Four would be public (Saumell sector/Pedralbes monastery, Mare de Déu de Lorda, Collserola/Aigües road and Llucieta Canyà passage); and two private ones (from the Betània and Aula schools). Likewise, it is proposed to improve the waiting areas of the accesses shared with the Costa i Llobera school institute and the Tàber school, the improvement of the arrival of public transport (bus stop near the Montevideo access and on the nearby Monestir street) and the installation of a bicing station at the Esports access. The elimination of fences and walls that separate public areas is also proposed.

Also relevant – and will require the support of several municipal areas – is the proposed reform by Gaspar Cassadó, which acts as a lateral to the Ronda de Dalt and cuts the park in two. Its current configuration does not allow permeability or an overall reading of the enclosure. There are two options to integrate the road, one complete, which would mean dedicating it only to pedestrians and bicycles, and another less radical one that maintains traffic by reducing speed and changing pavements.

A notable detail is that during the drafting of the plan, the urban situation of the 10,800 m2 plot in the western sector, which was for equipment, was regularized – in 2008 it was planned to locate the municipal shelter for pets there, which would generated strong opposition in the surrounding area – and has become a park and, therefore, integrated into that of the Castell de l’Oreneta.

“There are closed areas of the park that offer great potential and are incorporated into public uses, for example the sector where the ponies were, the old bridge or the roundabout-artificial mountain of the Bonavista estate,” states the master plan, which defends Likewise, maintain the spaces for children’s games, the areas for dogs, the areas of stay, rest and picnic, sports practice, viewing spaces and recover the small amphitheater next to the Casa del Porter.