The association of residents and merchants of La Rambla asks the government of Mayor Jaume Collboni to draw up a contingency plan that alleviates the inconveniences of the works of the expected reform of the promenade. Amics de la Rambla warns that the opportunists are already there, well hidden, as they were already there during the hardest moments of the pandemic, to hope that the economic losses that usually come with the machines will leave a few premises free and thus open new stores of cheap souvenirs, t-shirts with rude messages, sweets made with cannabis derivatives…
Barcelona City Council technicians recently explained details of the works plan to traders. “In June, a couple of companies will start work on the side of the Gothic Quarter – explains Fermín Villar, of Amics de la Rambla -, one up and the other down, for sections of about 50 meters, about ten months . Then, in April, they will do the same next to the Raval neighborhood, for ten months. And then they will do the work on the central section, in this case, about twelve months”.
The meeting triggered the anxiety of the traders. “We still don’t know how they intend to alleviate the consequences of these works on the economic activity of the promenade – Villar insists -. Nor did they explain to us what will be done with the florists when the work on the central section of the Rambla begins, to give an example. We hope that the City Council will soon draw up a contingency plan. In La Rambla the balance is very delicate. The consequences of 37 months of works can be much worse than those of the pandemic. During the pandemic, there was direct financial aid. In addition, in this sense, the first works of the reform are not at all encouraging”.
Traders complain that the early work still underway in the lower part of the promenade has already ruined the last season of the businesses installed there, and that if no one closed the doors, it was thanks to the good will of the construction managers, who made it easy to replace the terraces according to how the work progressed, who were also willing to adapt to the needs of the businesses. In the lower part, those affected are some of the few restaurants on the Rambla that do not plant huge posters in the middle of the promenade with photos of paellas and patates bravas and also gigantic glasses in striking colors.
“The forecasts of the commons when they ran the City Council denote the lack of affinity with the commerce of the Rambla – continues Villar, trying to prove himself diplomatic-. They didn’t do any planning about the consequences of the works. The attitude of Mayor Collboni’s executive is different, from the first moment. We thank them for shortening the work schedule and also their attitude towards us, but it is not enough. What do they intend to do with the florists, the artists, the statues, the terraces…? The temporary relocation of many activities must be considered right now, even those of the former birdwatchers! And it’s not that we’re asking for direct financial aid, but some detail. For a premises of around 250 m2 you can pay around 2,000 euros quarterly in IBI. In La Rambla, the balance between expenses and income is very delicate.” And in these situations, the ones who have the best chance of getting out of it unscathed are those who don’t place gigantic giant billboards in the middle of the promenade.
The last establishment that opened on La Rambla was a shop for cannabis-related products. The Discount 2 premises is divided into two parts, one offers sweets with psychoactive properties at a much lower price than the competition, and the other, mainly mobile phone cases. They are on the corner with Carrer Escudellers. There are already seven cannabis-related product shops in operation on La Rambla. Before the pandemic there was none.
“Yes – confirms the representative of Amics de la Rambla – the last business he opened was this store of cannabis-related products. Really what they have done is divide a venue. We already notified the City Council. In principle, you cannot make several commercial premises from one. And surely the City Council acts. He always acts. And it forces them to normalize the situation. But then they will have paid off. The rhythms of the picaresque are more agile than those of the bureaucracy”.
A few meters down is the penultimate store of this style that opened its doors on La Rambla. It is also called Discount 2 – in this case, with the background of the poster in red. Apparently, they wanted to set up a convenience store, a supermarket with bull-shaped sangria bottles, but the plan of uses of the promenade does not allow it, so they divided the premises into four spaces: cannabis, mobiles, gifts and a little bit of everything.
The phenomenon illustrates how, since the outbreak of the virus, opportunists have tried to leave secondary commercial routes behind and settle in other main ones, as is the case in Carrer Ferran, Comtal, Portaferrissa… And also in the Rambla The key is that the effort to start a business of cannabis-related products, t-shirts with rude messages or cheap souvenirs is less difficult than to set up other kinds of establishments, so they can get more profit from the progressive rents so typical of the tourist hubs.
If after a few months you don’t get the bills, you just have to look for other premises and start again. Those who set up a bookstore, a hat shop or a stationery store fight more. And since the pandemic, the interest of investment funds in commercial premises in this part of the city has multiplied. They are quite an alternative to residential buildings with vertical ownership. Offers tempt owners in times of uncertainty. The problem is that the money from these funds comes from so far away that they care very little about the characteristics of the businesses that the local people buy. And so, little by little, the t-shirt with the image of Snow White snorting cocaine becomes one of the most popular souvenirs in Barcelona.
