After 137 years when the first stone of its foundation was laid, a building which has since been one of the country’s most famous tourist attractions, has finally been issued permit by the authorities.
The gigantic structure at La Sagrada Familia was given a licence on Friday, allowing it to continue building work until 2026.
It is unclear why the church, designed by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí, did not have a building permit previously.
BBC reported that the Unesco heritage site agreed to pay $41m (£32m) to city authorities last year as a penalty for the oversight, and that It is hoped the seven-year licence will cover the building up to completion, planned for 2026 to coincide with the centenary of Gaudí’s death.
Officials were also reported to have said the city would be paid €4.6m ($5.2m; £4m) in fees as part of an agreement with the church’s foundation, which is responsible for the completion and preservation of La Sagrada Familia.
The medium quoted Janet Sanz, Barcelona’s deputy mayor of urbanism, as saying the agreement puts an end to “a historical anomaly in our city”.
About 4.5 million people are said to visit the Sagrada Familia each year, with a further 20 million people visiting the area to look at it.
Its final phase of construction will be based on Gaudí’s plaster models, and copies of his original drawings which were destroyed in a fire during the 1930s.
