No terrace for a year: pioneering sanction for two bars on La Rambla

BarcelonaThe same day that the ban on smoking on bar terraces takes a step forward, Barcelona has made public two pioneering judicial rulings that will disqualify for one year establishments that do not comply with municipal regulations on tables that bars and restaurants have in public spaces. Specifically, two terraces on La Rambla that had a license but have repeatedly failed to comply with the regulations have had their licenses revoked and will not have the option to recover them for a period of one year.

Most of the time, non-compliance on terraces is due to exceeding the space they can occupy, but in other cases, establishments directly set up tables outdoors without any license to do so. This is the case of the one at Carrer Avinyó 10, the largest unlicensed terrace in the city. It was already evicted in 2022, but reappeared this June and the council dismantled it a few days ago. The sanctioning procedure is underway and this Tuesday the Deputy Mayor for Security, Albert Batlle, admitted that although the action against the terrace was swift, the path to questioning the restaurant's license is more complicated. "We are aware that it is frustrating and sometimes difficult to explain", he said.

The administration's attempts to make restaurants comply with the terrace ordinance have a long history. For three years, the Ciutat Vella district stopped automatically renewing licenses to "repeat offenders," and through this route, 31 bars and restaurants have lost their terrace permits. Last year, they went a step further and revoked the licenses of seven establishments, and this year the same has happened with seven more, including the two on La Rambla that have been left without a terrace for a year.

"A mockery"

"We are friends of economic activity, commercial wealth, but absolutely enemies of non-compliance and especially of being fooled," Batlle defended. "Systematic non-compliance creates a sense of impunity," he said when he reviewed the inspections in the Ciutat Vella district, both in restaurants and in other economic activities, such as tourist accommodation, nightlife, and beach kiosks.

In fact, non-compliance on terraces accounts for 24.92% of sanctioning procedures, almost the same as those affecting tourist accommodation (23.34%). Since the end of the year, 21,349 inspections have been carried out in the district, and 12,780 files and 17,039 procedures have been opened. These also include incidents with occupations, noise, and other situations that can cause coexistence conflicts. The number of files has been growing in recent years, an average of 3.5% more.

Batlle has promised that they will not stop looking for ways against "repeat offenders" to prevent establishments that are sanctioned from continuing to violate regulations as if nothing were happening. The manager of Ciutat Vella, Félix Ortega, explained that the main strategy is the multi-inspections that have begun to be carried out this term in coordination with other administrations and areas.