Overview
- An administrative court ruled that noise from concerts and the Umbracle terrace at the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias violates nearby residents’ fundamental rights and ordered the city to take measures that can include revoking permits or relocating events, with €3,000 awarded to each plaintiff for moral damages.
- The judge said inspections and sanctions for noise fall to the municipal government under regional Law 7/2002 and rejected arguments that the complex’s special designation by the Generalitat exempts it from local acoustic rules.
- Expert reports filed in 2022 and 2023 recorded reception levels as high as 80 dBA, above Valencia’s limits of roughly 45 dBA at night and 55 dBA by day, and police records showed most 2022 noise complaints in the area linked to the Umbracle terrace.
- Mayor María José Catalá said city lawyers are reviewing the ruling and she will open talks with the regional operator CACSA and promoters to evaluate other venues, while stressing the city will protect residents’ right to rest.
- The decision puts upcoming festivals such as Les Arts, Big Sound and Love the 90’s in flux, and neighbors who brought the case expressed relief at the ruling yet doubt swift enforcement after years of what they describe as official foot-dragging.