Barcelona vetoes new dark stores and forces dark kitchens out onto industrial estates

BarcelonaThe controversy generated, now over a year ago, by the appearance of the first two projects for huge dark kitchens in Barcelona led the City Hall to impose a temporary moratorium on this activity, with licenses for this kind of businesses suspended. But then came dark stores, which are warehouses where online purchases are prepared for distribution and are not linked to a particular shop. Now Colau's government has announced a new regulation that bans this kind of supermarkets – although it cannot act on those already in operation – and forces dark kitchens out onto industrial areas under very restrictive conditions: they will have to be on streets over 25 metres wide, may not be next to housing and must be separated by at least 400 metres. They will be able to open under these conditions in the Zona Franca and Besòs, but not in 22@, which is not considered an isolated zone. Projects already which already stalled in Sant Martí and Les Corts will not go ahead because they do not meet the requirements.

"Not a single dark store more; and only few dark kitchens and far from neighbourhoods," warned deputy mayor for Urbanism Janet Sanz, who opposed these businesses to neighbourhood commerce. The plan also regulates home delivery by bars and restaurants, which is not now included in their regular licenses and is a practice which has skyrocketed during the pandemic. What is being done now is to recognise this activity, but to establish that a specific license will have to be requested in order to maintain home delivery. 80% of premises in the city have a surface area of under than 150 square meters, and these will not have set space aside for deliveries, with the sole exception of premises located on pedestrian-first streets. The larger ones, the remaining 20%, will have to set aside five square metres for every 100 metres to avoid delivery drivers taking over the street outside.

The plan also affects ready-to-eat food establishments: the number of new premises of this type is limited to one in a 100-metre radius and they may not be on streets under seven metres wide or exceed 300 square meters. These businesses will also have to reserve square space for delivery, like bars and restaurants. Dark kitchens which are allowed to open will also have to set aside space for deliveries: 10 metres for every 100 metres.

All premises will have a two-year moratorium once the license has been formalised in order to adapt to the new requirements, once the final bill is passed. The City Council has another year to do so.

Agreed with ERC

The City Council has presented a new strategic plan for the sector together with ERC, which last year already urged the council to regulate the sector, and has now supported the council. "Barcelona cannot be a ghost city. Faced with a new threat to local commerce, we had to act and that is why we are here," defended ERC spokesman in the City Council, Jordi Coronas, who admitted that what is being done is a first step and that it will now have to be developed.

This plan aims to create a new license to regulate the service of delivery drivers, both in large companies and smaller premises. "We want to respond to the occupation of pavements by crowds outside the premises, improve the working conditions of workers, many of whom probably do not even have a space to go to the toilet or to rest, and regulate this model in line with the one we have for the city," said the councillor for commerce, Montserrat Ballarín.

What about those that already exist?

Sanz has affirmed that the two macro kitchens whose building permits were withdrawn last year will stil not be able to obtain a license, but that "the kitchens that are already established, and that have not closed, will not disappear". "They will have to submit, however, to the new regulations and pass the relevant inspection," Sanz added.