Barcelona Oberta calls for more security and rejects Collboni's public supermarkets

The association Barcelona Oberta demands more security, flexible hours, and a review of the PEUAT, rejecting the public supermarkets proposed by Mayor Jaume Collboni.

The association of commercial axes in Barcelona presented eight priorities during the XI Summit of Barcelona Oberta, held at the Casa Seat. Its president, Gabriel Jené, called for a review of the city's mobility and accessibility so that customers and goods can easily reach points of sale. The requests clash with the agenda defended by the Barcelona City Council.

Among the demands is a more flexible usage plan and more freedom to set hours. Merchants also request a review of the PEUAT, the urban planning inherited from the era of Ada Colau, to facilitate the conversion of historic buildings into unique hotels. The list is completed with demands for more security and civility in public spaces, more agile administrative procedures with simplified permits and licenses, and the recovery of emblematic buildings for new uses.

Jené outright rejected the idea of creating public supermarkets, which Jaume Collboni has proposed. For the association, this measure goes against the private initiative that supports local commerce.

Collboni, for his part, insisted on regulating commercial rents. He proposes controlling prices in areas with historic or iconic shops, as he did this summer. According to the mayor, without a local commercial fabric, gentrification occurs and social cohesion in neighborhoods weakens, a phenomenon that, in his view, is being experienced in several European capitals.

“We must open the debate regarding the limitation of commercial rent increases when there is a succession of contracts. This is not something we are pulling out of thin air: this measure is already applied in Paris”

The proposal was well received by Marta Angerri, general director of commerce of the Generalitat, but the attendees did not fully share it. Paloma Bergós, portfolio management director at Casacuberta, argued that the problem is not the rent price but the activity of the premises.

Bergós believes that, at most, the intervention should be limited to very specific premises. Instead of setting general caps, she proposes helping local entrepreneurs improve their offerings, for example with grants to renovate establishments.