There are several unresolved issues that await the new administrators at the pass. Among these is certainly the problem of commerce that demands immediate answers. The suffering of the historic center, which is now increasingly depopulated of activities, has been known for some time. The numbers speak for themselves: there are about 100 shop windows on Via Italia, and 30 have the shutters down. The monthly cost for a medium-sized shop is around 2,500 euros and shopkeepers complain, in addition to the high rent, of a level of maintenance (by the owners) that often borders on zero.
Mold, mice and cockroaches, in many cases, are a constant and renters are forced to constantly disinfest. Meanwhile, Confesercenti calls for an immediate resumption of interventions to combat the crisis involving the high society of Biella. «We must resume major maneuvers to reoccupy the vacant shops in Via Italia – says president Angelo Sacco -. Everything stopped for three months, due to the elections, and we need to resume the work we started. We have no time to waste for two reasons: the first is that the 188 thousand euros of regional funding intended for the valorisation of the sector have an expiry date set for March 2025. And no less important is the fact that behind every shop there are families and employees who have been struggling for years.” Thanks to funding from the Urban Commercial District, the aim was to relight all the darkened shop windows through mediation work with the owners of the empty properties and, in the meantime, also to beautify the historic centre, thanks to funding provided directly to the businesses, through a call, to renew the exhibition part and with new street furniture. «There was only an initial meeting with the real estate agencies, to test the market and then intercede directly with the properties – continues Sacco -. We have to leave immediately.”
Traders are asking for concrete interventions. «We shopkeepers have our own identity, we must be valued and not constantly attacked – says Gabriella Mele, manager of Clore Outlet, without hesitation -. I opened my doors after the pandemic, and as far as I’m concerned I must say that the customers are there, you just need to know how to win them over. I have a decent turnover, I can’t complain.” And she adds: «I’m not even complaining about the cost of rent, but the problem is that in the face of demands that are high to say the least in economic terms there is no adequate response in the care of the buildings and sewerage. The main problem is humidity. All commercial activities need a warehouse and cellars are impracticable.” Furthermore, the shopkeeper addresses the new administration directly: «I would like to ask the Municipality to believe and invest in Via Italia. It is a splendid area, it deserves to be looked after more.”
In the meantime, the shutters are still many. “When we were looking for a shop to rent – says Moreno Rizzo, owner of the new Made in Biella delicatessen -, we sadly learned that from Via San Filippo to the porticoes of the Municipality there are about ten, there are about thirty vacant shops in the whole of Via Italia. We started with the right enthusiasm, but those who administer must do their part”. Bureaucracy is another sore point. “I had asked the Municipality to be able to place just two seats – continues the trader -, but I had to give up. This is not in line with a town that aims to become a tourist destination”.
