Barcelona will install sound level meters on Tuset street to study whether it limits hours to nightlife
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The municipal government accepts an ERC proposal and will install sound level meters for nine weeks, while the employers oppose it and announce that they will try to repeal the measure
Barcelona City Council has approved the installation of sound level meters on Carrer Tuset, in the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district, where two of the best-known nightclubs in the city are located, Sutton and Bling Bling, as well as bars and complaints about disturbances after hours. The municipal government (Barcelona en Comú and PSC) and ERC have voted in favor of a proposal that the Republicans have presented to the presidential commission to carry out noise controls at night.
If it is found that the noise pollution limit is exceeded by more than three decibels two days a week, the council undertakes to include Tuset and its surroundings in acoustically stressed areas. The council has created the denomination this year and the Limitation of opening hours for bars and shops on the streets of Ciutat Vella and Gràcia, as well as on the terraces of Enric Granados street, in the Eixample. Junts and PP have abstained from the measure, while Cs and Valents have opposed it.
The Deputy Mayor for Security, Albert Batlle, has announced that sonometric devices will be placed for nine weeks in the surroundings of Tuset’s leisure and hospitality establishments. Batlle has conditioned the measures that can be taken on the results, without specifying whether they may involve cutting the hours of nightclubs and bars. The proposition that has prospered does specify that, depending on the results of the tests, food stores are forced to close from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. to stop the bottles. In addition, the veto on the sale of alcohol in those stores would be advanced at 9:00 p.m.
The bosses, against
The nightlife employer, Fecalon, has advanced that will study measures to try to repeal the controls and any restrictions that may be imposed in the zone. The Gremi de Restauració de Barcelona already said that it would resort to any agreement to limit the hours to catering establishments and terraces.
Batlle added that “many bars make discotheques” in Tuset and the surrounding area without having permission to offer an offer typical of a nightclub. In this sense, the deputy mayor has specified that the city council has opened 85 files against businesses from the area from the beginning of 2021 until the middle of last October. The Councilor for Security has specified that 36 open proceedings against premises are for offering activities contrary to the license granted.
Batlle has indicated that the council has announced to businessmen in the area of the inconvenience that residents must endure, especially when entering and leaving nightlife establishments. “If it does not improve, more drastic measures must be taken”has warned.
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For his part, the Republican Jordi Coronas has emphasized that in Tuset there is “a massive occupation at odd hours, fights, neighbors who cannot rest at certain hours and who cannot enter or leave the house ”. “It is repeated as in other spaces due to the high concentration of nightlife and zero alternatives to that model,” the ERC spokesman analyzed.
The rest of the opposition has remarked that the nuisance is caused by noise and incivility in the street. In turn, it has warned that the limitations on the hours of nightlife venues may lead to job losses. Coronas has dismissed the argument as “hypocritical.” “They want control on the street and an open bar in the premises,” the Republican has reproached the rest of the opposition forces.