The municipal group Junts per Catalunya has formally urged the Tarragona City Council to take immediate subsidiary action to tackle a severe rat infestation affecting residents near Hospital Joan XXIII.

Spokesperson Jordi Sendra stated that neighbours on Carrer Josep Maria Vives i Salas and Carrer Arquebisbe Ramon Torrella have endured months of living with rodents outside their homes. He cited visible rat activity day and night in a privately owned vacant lot between Carrer Arquebisbe Ramon Torrella and the N-240 road.

"We cannot continue tolerating such an evident public health issue stuck in bureaucracy while residents coexist with rodents at their doorsteps," Sendra said. "If the source is private land and the owner fails to act, the council is legally obligated to intervene, clean the site, and bill the owner."

Council confirms action initiated

According to sources at the Ajuntament de Tarragona, municipal services responded to resident complaints after inspections detected conditions conducive to rodent proliferation. These included accessible food and water from a local cat colony sustaining the population.

The city’s cleaning service has drafted an unsanitary conditions report, and the council has begun proceedings to formally require the landowner to address the deficiencies and restore hygiene standards, as reported by diaridetarragona.com on 30 August 2026.

The standard pest control contracts are not working here. When routine methods fail, the administration must step in with reinforced measures, including subsidiary enforcement on non-compliant private properties.

Demand for urgent measures

  • Immediate data on all pest-related complaints and interventions in the area over the past 12 months
  • An extraordinary, reinforced rat control operation without delay
  • Formal notice to property owners identified as sources; if unaddressed, initiate subsidiary action under local regulatory law
  • Increased frequency of bin collection and street cleaning during the risk period
  • Regular, transparent monitoring of actions, shared with municipal groups and affected residents

Junts stresses that public health protection is a mandatory municipal responsibility, and pest risk management is a legally required minimum service. The group warns that ongoing inaction risks further community mobilisation.

Primary sources: boe.es. Reported by diaridetarragona.com, es.openprocurements.com, diarimes.com, Infocamp.