Barcelona City Council has suspended new licences for 24-hour supermarkets across the city for one year. The measure, which took effect on Wednesday, is aimed at protecting local commerce and limiting pressure in some neighbourhoods.
The decision was approved by the Government Commission under Mayor Jaume Collboni. The council says these shops often sit outside the usual local business model, and some municipal groups argue they can create a commercial monoculture in areas with heavy tourist traffic.
During the suspension, the Ajuntament will work on new urban planning rules to protect commercial diversity and stop further saturation. The council says there are about 1,300 of these establishments in Barcelona, mostly selling everyday food products and operating in premises of 300 square metres or less.
The suspension covers new licences and the processing of communications for works linked to opening or expanding these businesses. It does not apply to Sant Martí and Ciutat Vella, where recent restrictive rules are already in place, and municipal markets are also excluded.
Barcelona will also keep up its inspection campaigns on 24-hour food establishments. These checks involve several departments, including the Urban Guard, Mossos d'Esquadra, National Police, Barcelona Public Health Agency, labour inspectors, the Municipal Tax Institute, and fire and environment services. During the current mandate, the city has carried out 14 multi-inspection campaigns and checked more than 230 premises.
Those inspections have found more than 1,440 licence-related breaches, along with 252 public health infractions, 163 waste management violations, 123 labour issues and 116 tax breaches. Across the city, ordinary urban planning and public health inspections have led to 87 provisional closures, 513 restoration orders, 253 sanctions and 85 coercive fines, totalling €440,180. The main problems include activity that does not match the licence, fire safety issues, alcohol rule breaches, food safety and hygiene failures, and missing control plans.
For more Barcelona city updates, see our Community coverage and the latest Sport stories.
Originally published by betevé. Read the original report. Ajuntament de Barcelona.
