The latest conflict around restaurants, that of the hours of many establishments and their terraces, is intensifying. The Gremi de Restauració of Barcelona says that the municipal revocation of the restrictions on some 60 businesses in the Raval and Gòtic neighborhoods is nothing more than the first battle of a judicial war that will seem long. The following skirmishes will take place in several squares in the Vila de Gràcia neighborhood, in the Gulf of Poblenou Triangle and on Enric Granados Street. The Gremi de Restauració adds that the current schedules are among the most restrictive in Catalonia and the rest of Spain. A few businesses are already preparing their claims for damages
Meanwhile, many residents and part of the opposition demand that the government of Mayor Jaume Collboini shield some limitations dictated by the last executive of Mayor Ada Colau to combat noise and guarantee rest for many. They understand that Mayor Collboni’s government is not protecting these restrictions adequately.
Recently the City Council withdrew the one-hour reduction in the operation of bars and restaurants, and also their terraces, dictated by the previous administration on Joaquín Costa Street and surrounding areas, in the Raval, and in George Orwell Square and its surroundings, in the Gòtic, two of the busiest spots in Ciutat Vella. Here people not only complain about the chatter of the clients of the gambling dens, but also about the street musicians, the drinking establishments, the skaters… But the municipal legal services concluded that the file was issued after the deadline, that the The City Council had lost the administrative dispute filed by the Gremi, and the best thing was to back down… In a statement the municipal executive announced that it will develop a new plan to combat noise pollution, that it will install new sound level meters, that it will summon those affected. .. but he did not refer to the possibility of reactivating the limitations.
The Gremi points out that the files of the restrictions later imposed in the Sol, Virreina and Revolució squares, the Gulf Triangle area and Enric Granados street do not suffer from the failures of those in Ciutat Vella, but that they still trust that the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) knocks them down before the end of this mandate. “When it dictates these restrictions, the City Council says that they respond to a noise pollution problem, but in that case the environmental ordinance should be taken into account. Sound level meters cannot be installed or interpreted in any way. The problem is the bottles, not the terraces.” The businesses affected by these same restrictions in the Diamant and Vila de Gràcia squares and a point in Sants-Montjuïc preferred not to file any administrative litigation.
This situation has a great impact. The discomfort of many residents of Raval and Gòtic is growing. They understand that their quality of life is subject to economic interests. And the ERC councilors also fear that the Ciutat Vella revocations are a preview of what will happen in the rest of the city. So the municipal government will ask for explanations in the Presidency commission next week.
“The previous mandate,” says Republican Jordi Coronas, “ERC prioritized improving coexistence and the well-being of the neighborhood. Problems such as those of Enric Granados, the Gulf Triangle, Tuset, Virreina or Raval had become entrenched. So we proposed an increase in security and civic agents and the installation of sound level meters, and we also pushed to advance the closing time of the terraces. An initiative that achieved the consensus of the majority of groups. Now we are witnessing a new bungling by the executives of Colau and Collboni, a new example of bad government and of not knowing how to do things well with the serious consequences that this entails for the neighborhood and the credibility of the City Council in the eyes of the citizens.”
The Republicans want the City Council to somehow shield its restrictions, to strengthen them in the face of the latest judicial offensive. “We don’t want neighbors to suffer the hell of noise until late at night again,” said Republican Coronas. So we demand that the municipal government do everything possible to correct its mistake, to take full responsibility, standing up to the neighborhood and re-implementing the measures already approved without cracks.”
