Escaldes-Engordany Expands Prat del Roure Green Space to 12,000 Square Metres

Escaldes-Engordany authorities have expanded the Prat del Roure green space to 12,000 square metres, with only 6,600 square metres on communal land secured for the long term.

The project added 2,800 square metres by converting asphalt along Carrer dels Veedors—previously occupied by tennis and mini-basketball courts—into an 800-square-metre playground and 2,000 square metres of landscaped gardens. Further enhancements involved planting new trees, including one relocated from Carrer de la Unió during recent roadworks, laying natural grass turf, upgrading public lighting, and improving pedestrian access to Carrer dels Veedors and Clot d'Emprivat. These upgrades strengthen a key green corridor through the parish centre.

Cònsol Major Rosa Gili, speaking at Wednesday's inauguration and to media the following day, emphasised the need to safeguard public spaces amid rapid urban development. She pointed out that the remaining 5,400 square metres—an island between Carrer dels Veedors and Avinguda de les Nacions Unides—remains privately owned and leased to the parish, leaving it vulnerable to termination or immediate construction as consolidated urban land.

Gili outlined priorities for the forthcoming parish urban planning scheme (POUP), expected for approval this autumn after delays from an initial early 2025 target. The plan will not alter maximum building heights in Clot d'Emprivat but will require new towers to free up street-level green space, avoiding isolated concrete areas. "We cannot prevent new buildings since owners have legitimate rights on private plots," she said. "But if towers rise here, they must be positioned to release more green space."

Gili noted the parish's thorough approach to the POUP, aimed at creating public parks and protecting heritage in central locations. She stressed compensating growth with more green areas, especially as spaces once thought public have been lost to development. The skate park and basketball courts in the park's upper section also occupy rented land at risk of future change, though planning rules mandate compensatory greens—possibly over underground parking—in any redevelopment.