Sagrada Família to get planning permission...134 years on

Gaudí, who died in 1926 after being run over by a bus directly opposite his most famous creation, first sought planning permission for the iconic, quirky and ultra-modern cathedral in the year 1885, but the papers were never signed off.

And the most globally-renowned monument in Spain's second-largest city remains unfinished - although the construction board intends to have it completed by the year 2026, on the centenary of Gaudí's death.

Now, however, 21st-century planning terms apply to what began life as a late 19th-century structure: the developers are required to 'urbanise' the surrounding area, building necessary infrastructure, including improving public transport links to it.

Until all the original planning requisites, and the new ones, are complied with, the construction board will not receive its licence, although a council meeting on March 7 voted in favour of its being granted once all requirements are met.

Barcelona's mayoress Ada Colau has set a price of €36 million, payable over 10 years, for upgrading roads and other facilities in the vicinity of the cathedral, although the actual cost of the planning permission has not been revealed.

It is said that it has taken 134 years for it to be agreed because no previous local government had 'sat down to negotiate' with the developers to 'agree and guarantee costs and plans'.