To combat commercial desertification, the Catalan village of Castellolí offers a free house and a help of 15,000 euros to anyone ready to open a grocery store. The initiative is part of a regional project to revive local shops in rural areas.
The rural exodus has become the deserted villages of all trade. Our Iberian neighbors do not escape this phenomenon. Then Castellolí, a small village of 651 inhabitants less than an hour from Barcelona tries to face it. The town offers a free house and an aid of € 15,000 for anyone ready to open a grocery store in the village, according to 20 minutes.
The mayor of Castellolí therefore provides a historic house, Cal Peret, with his store on the ground floor which has housed a local business for years. The building, currently empty, is in the main street near all the amenities of the village.
An offer under conditions
The town hall therefore grants a subsidy of 15,000 euros for the development of the premises. In exchange, the store will have to offer local products – notably from agricultural areas Basin of Odena et Montserrat.
The new tenants must undertake to maintain the property according to the model of the “Masoveria urban”. This is a contract that initiates those who sign it, to carry out various rehabilitation, improvement and maintenance activities of the house without having to pay rent.
An action to revive villages
Although the action represents an investment for the town hall, it estimates in a press release that “The costs will be partially offset by the advantages linked to the recovery of the local grocery store”.
This action is part of a Catalan project aimed at rehabilitating local shops in the small towns of the region to ensure their sustainable survival. An essential action for these villages and for those who live there.
