L'Hospitalet shops to close overnight from Tuesday

Small food and drink shops covered by L'Hospitalet’s special trading-hours rules will have to stop sales and close to the public overnight across the city from Tuesday 22 September.

Laia Serra · 18 Sep 2026 · 2 min read

L'Hospitalet de Llobregat City Council says shops of up to 300 square metres selling food and drink under a special trading-hours regime will have to close overnight across the municipality from Tuesday 22 September.

For residents, the measure is intended to reduce late-night noise, litter and outdoor alcohol-drinking gatherings. For affected shop operators, it means no customer access or sales after 22:00, rather than restrictions limited to particular neighbourhoods.

From June to September, the shops must close between 22:00 and 07:00. From October to May, the required closure period will run from 22:00 to 06:00. Outside those hours, the businesses may trade normally.

Rule now applies across L'Hospitalet

The council approved the regime for businesses with personalised service or self-service and a sales area of no more than 300 square metres. It replaces a municipal decree that had been in force since 2010.

According to the council, technical and police reports found that night-time gatherings linked to alcohol consumption were occurring in districts across L'Hospitalet, rather than in only a few locations. The city-wide rule is intended to prevent such activity moving to areas without previous restrictions, a pattern known locally as a border effect.

The council cited incidents including noise, rubbish and botellones, outdoor gatherings where people drink alcohol in public spaces.

22 September to 31 May: affected shops must close from 22:00 to 06:00.
1 June to 30 September: affected shops must close from 22:00 to 07:00.
Scope: food and drink retailers of up to 300 square metres covered by the special opening-hours regime, throughout L'Hospitalet.

Part of wider policing and neighbourhood measures

The council said the change adapts local rules to Law 18/2017 on commerce, services and fairs. It forms part of its Plan Nautilus programme, under which it says more than 15 premises linked to noise and disturbances, and more than 35 premises described as drug dens, have been closed.

It also referred to Kanpai and Bastión, police operations led by the Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia’s regional police, with support from the L'Hospitalet Urban Guard and National Police. The council said the Nimbus operation has seized more than 600 modified electric scooters or scooters without compulsory third-party liability insurance.

The council said recorded crime in L'Hospitalet fell by 13.5% between 1 January and 31 August compared with the same period in 2025, citing data from the Generalitat’s Department of Interior and Public Security. Businesses covered by the new regime will need to ensure that customers have left and sales have stopped by 22:00 from Tuesday.

Reported by elplural.com.