The opening of the terraces before the bars and restaurants premises and the confidence generated by the outdoor spaces in front of the closed ones have caused the requests for licenses for new terraces in the city of Valencia to skyrocket. According to municipal sources, since the State of Alarm began, 150 requests have been received and around 80 have already been approved. Last week alone, 75 new terraces in the capital were “painted” on the ground, an acceleration that has been possible , according to the sources, to the flexibility measures that the council has introduced in the granting of these permits.
In the city of València there are around 4,000 terraces, especially profitable spaces due to the good weather conditions throughout the year. However, there are many other bars and restaurants that due to lack of space on the street or due to the characteristics of the premises do not have this service.
But now everything has changed. The coronavirus crisis, and more precisely the de-escalation of the state of alarm, has placed the terraces as the first escape route for these establishments, which have been closed for two months. From Monday only the terraces can be opened at 50%, while the premises will not be able to start filling until the next phase and with a strong capacity limit.
Furthermore, this crisis has taught the population that open spaces are safer than closed ones from a health point of view. Therefore, terraces have become a solution.
The proof is that since the State of Alarm in Valencia was decreed, 150 licenses have been requested to open new terraces, of which 80 have already been granted. Only last week 75 of these spaces were painted, that is, new occupations on public roads were delimited.
Change of standards
This acceleration in the procedures has come after the conversations held between the municipal officials, the Federation of Neighborhood Associations and the Hospitality Federation. One of the measures adopted has been to lower chairs and tables onto the roadway, occupying parking space, but also the decision has been made to expedite the new licenses by eliminating procedures.
Until now, obtaining a terrace license required a technical report and a resolution from the government team, which was sometimes delayed in time due to the need for the different municipal services to report.
Now, however, this last procedure has been abolished and to open a terrace it is enough to have favorable technical reports. And then there may be inspections that ratify the business situation or finally the resolution that approves or denies that permission.
What’s more, one more person has been put in the technical department to speed up this process, according to sources.
This new licensing system will not expire, also, when the alarm state ends, but will continue in force afterwards. The measure that will be transitory and will end when the current state of exception ends, is the descent of terraces onto the road.
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