El Born noise plan has been shelved by Barcelona’s city government following a successful legal challenge from the local restaurant sector.

The administration, led by Mayor Jaume Collboni, has effectively scrapped its specific noise reduction strategy for the iconic Passeig del Born area.

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Consequently, officials have now approved a new version of the text, aiming to avoid further judicial complications.

The original plan, presented in late January to reduce noise levels below 65 decibels, was formally archived on 27 November. Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Ciutat Vella, Albert Batlle, clarified to the district council that this move was a procedural step to prevent new legal obstacles. Furthermore, the government commission has approved a new version of the text, one month after suspending the original project.

This administrative tangle, which has caused confusion for both residents and businesses, stems from a ruling by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC). The court, at the request of the Restaurant Guild, overturned two annexes of the Environmental Ordinance relating to atmospheric protection and acoustic contamination. Therefore, the noise plan was derived from this modification, and the municipal executive claims it was archived to “avoid a long judicial wait.”

“The judicial process could affect the plan that was in force, and we don’t want to wait if the process drags on,” sources from the executive explained. “That’s why we archived the previous plan and immediately brought a new one to initial approval.” The December government commission approved an adaptation of the original plan, with an additional cost of around €7,000, to ensure the noise reduction strategy is legal and applicable.

The Restaurant Guild, which had questioned the legality of the El Born noise plan, interprets the city’s move as an attempt to amend the legal defects they identified. The sector continues to argue that the same municipal reports “place the problems generated by loudspeakers and street drinking above those generated by terraces” and that the text contained legal irregularities.

The plan affected 19 bars and restaurants on Passeig del Born and 35 terraces; 16 presented allegations through the Guild and another did so individually. In conversation with Tot Barcelona, Roger Pallarols, director of the Guild, called to “start a new stage” seeking the “genuine” complicity of restaurateurs. “It is very difficult for the restaurant industry to be complicit in any process if the City Council acts from a position of threat,” Pallarols warned.

The plan presented by Batlle offered a horizon of gradual measures that could end “in the reduction of the usual hours of restaurants, bars, terraces or food and convenience establishments, setting the closing time one hour earlier, and which could be, in subsequent phases, up to two hours earlier than what the regulations currently establish.” Pallarols, with whom the Council had previously agreed on a new terrace ordinance at the start of the mandate, now accuses the council of “breaking all spirit of collaboration and understanding.”

Residents Express Frustration and Health Concerns

Residents, however, not only disagree with the Restaurant Guild but also accuse Deputy Mayor Batlle of “equating” fundamental rights like rest with nightlife. “The constitution says that leisure must be facilitated within the framework of health protection,” argues Jordi Badia, from the Neighbourhood Network Against Noise (XAVECS).

Hasari Lafuente, a resident of Carrer dels Ases – a minute’s walk from Passeig del Born – complained about two night-time venues. “The response was that the venues have an open file, without us noticing any change, and that this plan exists which we now don’t know how it stands,” the resident commented. Lafuente sees these comings and goings as “ridiculous” and recalls that they are not just a few “grumpy” neighbours complaining.

“My wife and I take medication to sleep. She has lived here for many years and suffers from anxiety,” the affected resident recounts. He states bluntly that living around Passeig del Born “is like living in a shopping centre” and that the noise is constant all day. “There are constantly venues under construction, because they are ephemeral businesses, groups of tourists, karaokes or people in restaurants,” describes the neighbour. This situation mirrors wider urban challenges, as seen with other public space management issues in the city.

A History of Stalled Noise Initiatives

During Ada Colau’s mandates, the executive promoted two similar plans for Plaça George Orwell (Gothic) and Plaça Joaquim Costa (Raval), but Batlle withdrew them alleging – with arguments similar to those for El Born – that there was an ongoing judicial procedure threatening to overturn them. The Comuns also left ready two more noise plans for Barceloneta and the Cas Antic that Batlle never signed.

The latest plan, for El Born, had come from the socialist executive. “Until now the argument was that the Comuns had done it wrong and that they would do it right, but now he can’t say that,” points out Jordi Rabassa, a district councillor with Colau and now a member of the opposition. The Comuns had tried to pressure Collboni with an even more restrictive plan than the one he proposed for El Born.

As the city awaits the government’s next steps, the positions between the opposition, residents, and Born restaurateurs remain deeply divided. The future of the El Born noise plan, and the peace of its residents, now hinges on the revised legal text navigating these conflicting urban priorities.

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