The commotion about the permanent flower and fish stalls in the municipality of Groningen having to disappear at night remains great, even now that entrepreneurs have received a more nuanced letter.
It states that the municipality will not yet take enforcement action if the stalls are left standing overnight. First, the municipality wants to talk to the entrepreneurs. This will not only concern the removal of the stalls during the night, but also other rules in the permit, such as the number of square meters that a stall occupies.
The opposition parties have sounded the alarm about the issue. They do not believe that the city council really intends to spare the permanent stalls and fear that, despite the new letter, they will have to make way for public space at night.
Old wine in new bags
“I would like to give the mayor and aldermen the benefit of the doubt, but I have little hope,” says group leader Amrut Sijbolts of the City Party. “We are used to this council that they repackage decisions and still stand their ground.”
He does not understand the nuisance the stalls cause at night. “Here people typically argue from city hall, with blinders on. The policy on so-called clutter is taking hold. These stalls actually add something to the quality of life.”
VVD faction leader Ietje Jacobs is also not satisfied with the new letter. “The councilor says he still wants to talk to the entrepreneurs, but the basic principle remains that they have to leave at night.”
Jacobs says he finds that terrible. “It ignores the entrepreneurs. Do they have time to set up and dismantle the stall every day? Do they have a place to store things, a car that can pull such a stall? Is their stall even movable? I cannot explain this and look in disbelief at a new chapter in the book bullying entrepreneurs.”
Beautify public space
Thirty entrepreneurs of permanent flower and fish stalls received a letter at the beginning of this month stating that they must dismantle their stall every day from January 1. The stalls must be removed between eleven o’clock in the evening and six o’clock in the morning to beautify the public space.
The permit states that they must disappear for a few hours every 24 hours, but this did not happen. The municipality tolerated this for years. Until now, because flower stall Bolt is getting a new location on the Grote Markt and is no longer allowed to leave its stall open at night. Bolt then pointed out that his colleagues would also have to dismantle their stalls at night: equal monks, equal hoods.
Responsible councilor Carine Bloemhoff (PvdA) knew nothing about the letter sent and found it annoying that it was delivered to entrepreneurs just before Christmas. She withdrew the letter and promised to send a new, nuanced letter after it. It states that the municipality highly values the entrepreneurs, but also wants to take into account the interests of other users of the public space and road safety.
Solution for non-existent problem
According to Etkin Armut of the CDA, the municipality is looking for a solution to a non-existent problem. “The coalition is far removed from reality. We are shocked by this and believe that the council should talk to the entrepreneurs with the aim of continuing to tolerate their stall being there at night.”
It is not only politics that is concerned with this issue. Administrative lawyer Jewan de Goede wonders what the municipality is doing, especially since oliebollen stalls are allowed to remain standing at night, ‘because they have a seasonal location’. “There doesn’t really seem to be any reason behind it.”
According to him, if the municipality has tacitly tolerated it, it can indeed enforce its own rules. That will change, he says, if there is correspondence about toleration. “Then the government has created confidence and entrepreneurs can derive certain rights from this.” There is no such correspondence.
He advises entrepreneurs to submit an application to change the permit from years ago, so that they do not have to dismantle their stall every day. “Then you turn it around: the councilor has to explain why she wants those stalls to be removed for a few hours a night. I think she’s having a hard time with that.”
‘It has been tolerated for so long: it will simply be continued’
Architect Pieter Bas Zwaga of VdpArchitecten understands that the municipality is busy making the city more beautiful. “Thinking about the city is changing, but you shouldn’t put that on the entrepreneurs, we all have to stand for that.”
He suggests focusing on quality. “If something is ugly and functions well, it can be even better if it is beautiful. Look at the kiosk on the Ebbingebrug or the kiosk on the Grote Markt. And do you know what beautiful kiosk used to be in front of the town hall?”
Chairman Eric Bos of the Groningen City Club expects that the municipality will eventually enforce regulations if entrepreneurs do not comply with the permit rules. He expects an exception for nighttime breakdowns. “I assume that entrepreneurs will be able to leave their stalls open. It has been tolerated for so long, it will simply continue.”