The Town Hall has announced that it will reduce the fees on bar terraces, as compensation for the loss of trade thanks to the new anti-tobacco law. Bar & Restaurant owners can have their tables and chairs out all year round, but only pay the summer months.

The coast here enjoys a climate that makes these open-air facilities practical most of the year and now with smokers forced out onto the streets, these terraces have become the only area where you can enjoy a cigarette with your coffee.

But this new bylaw is not only for terraces, but also contemplates that a bar that normally does not have a terrace can put two high tables without chairs up against the façade of the establishment, completely free of charge. This is great because it’s ideal for the new lepers of the 21st century – smokers.

Furthermore, those establishments that want a terrace outside high season (May to September) will be charged at a 70% reduction per month.

Finally, collateral damage to the new anti-smoking laws has been the people that live on the floors above bars, because smokers congregate outside and the increase in noise is keenly felt, especially in the small hours, which is why the Town Hall has also included an ‘hours limitation’ for terraces: up to midnight out of season and up to one in the morning in the summer.