Las Palmas’ outdoor bars and cafes face strict new restrictions on noise after a raft of complaints from locals and neighbourhood associations.
Town planning councillor Javier Doreste said that football games shown outside bars will have to have the sound turned off except for exceptional games.
Bars and cafes will also need to apply for exceptional licenses in order to offer live music.
However, bars in tourist hotspots such as Santa Catalina Square will be allowed to offer regular live music, as will those that take part in the Ruta Playa Viva (live music along the beachfront at weekends).
There are believed to be 560 licenses terraces in Las Palmas city, plus another 150 operating without formal permission. Doreste said that residents’ right to peace had to come above the interests of business and that enforcement of the new rules will focus on bars and cafes that generate complaints from neighbours. Most complaints come from the busiest areas of the city such as Las Canteras and Triana.
In future, outdoor terraces won’t be allowed to occupy more than 50% of public squares or pavements and will have to allow for a two metre right of way for pedestrians. Other new rules state that outdoor furniture must be free of adverts and that bars are responsible for cleaning the public area that they occupy.
Existing terraces will have two years to comply with the new rules once they come into force.
This is great news for people who own property close to busy nightspots and noisy bars, but I hope they aren’t too strict; Las Palmas’ outdoor terraces are a major highlight of living in the city.
