The Arrecife City Council has ordered the “immediate closure” of the House of Fear, in the Charco de San Ginés, after concluding that “it is acting in fraud of law” and that it implies “unfair competition” for the rest of the bars and restaurants in the area. The decree ordering the closure was signed on January 10 by the Councilor for Infractions, Elisabet Merino, although three days later she agreed to grant a one-month extension to “restore the legality of said activity”, if possible.
The premises belong to the City Council, which ceded it in its day to the House of Fear Society of Culture, Sports and Recreation. However, the Consistory points out that the activity it carries out “is not adjusted to what is included in its statutes and the conditions taken into account by the City Council for the transfer of use.”
Although the premises have been operating for decades, it was in December 2020 when it faced a complaint from the Local Police that started this file. In it, the agents notified the complaints from the neighbors about the fumes from a chimney installed on the roof of the premises. “As of today, there are still complaints from the neighbors about this situation, since it does not comply with the extraction of fumes,” says the City Council decree.
In addition, it explains that from that complaint, the Classified Activities database of the Consistory was also consulted, verifying that it lacked a license for the bar-cafeteria activity. And it is that in its day it requested the permit, but the procedure ended up being filed due to “inaction of the promoter” and it was abandoned, as stated in the resolution of the City Council.
More than two months asking for the closure
One year after the first complaint from the Police, on December 1, 2021, the Consistory urged the company that manages this establishment to “proceed with the legalization of the activity”, indicating then that in the meantime it should “close and paralyze it voluntarily, as it does not have the corresponding license or prior communication.”
The response of the House of Fear Society of Culture, Sports and Recreation was to request a one-month extension to regularize its situation, which was finally granted by the Consistory on January 13. Just three days before responding to that request, the Councilor for Infractions had issued that last decree ordering the “immediate closure.”
In the resolution, it was warned that “if the closure does not occur voluntarily, it will be sealed by the Local Police of Arrecife”. In addition, it stressed that in case of non-compliance it would face a sanctioning file for a very serious infraction, which could imply fines of between 15,000 and 30,000 euros.
When authorizing that one-month extension just afterwards, the City Council warned again that “once said period has elapsed without the documentation required from the Activities Department having been corrected, the corresponding sanctioning file will be initiated.”
