The Ombudsman has asked the city councils of Madrid and Barcelona to do everything in their power to ensure that the rights of residents to rest are compatible with the right of hoteliers to use and exploit the terraces.
Thus, the institution has addressed the Madrid City Council so that, after the entry into force of a new Ordinance last February, “effectively supervise compliance by the owners of hotel and catering terraces with the requirements established in the Ordinance to ensure the rest of the neighbours”. To this end, it recommends adopting a plan for scheduled, unannounced inspections and combining this plan with inspections following complaints from neighbours.
In addition, it is recommended that “new means for the inspection of terraces should be made available, particularly in saturated zones and special noise protection areas, and to facilitate the processing of complaints and sanctioning procedures, as well as the restoration of urban and environmental legality”. The Ombudsman recommends that the Madrid City Council develop public awareness campaigns to “encourage civic behaviour in public spaces, especially those linked to the use of hotel and catering terraces”.
The Ombudsman has also asked Barcelona City Council to report on the application and compliance with the Ordinance on Terraces in the Catalan capital. In addition, the institution has requested an “assessment of the results obtained, a report on the inspection programme available to the Catalan capital’s City Council to ensure compliance with the Ordinance, the number of noise and other nuisance complaints received since the entry into force of the new precepts, and an indication of the penalties imposed”.
Despite the entry into force of the new terrace by-laws in both capitals, the Ombudsman’s Office continues to receive complaints from residents and neighbourhood groups.
Installing terraces requires sufficient means to ensure compliance with the conditions imposed by the regulations and activity licences and thus ensure respect for neighbours’ rights so that the nuisance generated by the activity is reduced as necessary to bearable levels.
The activities cities offer their inhabitants and visitors are part of the economic engine that sustains them. Still, only proper supervision of compliance with the conditions under which they must be provided will prevent urban centres from becoming uninhabitable because residents can’t live with the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
