Several supermarkets in Assen are open for extended shopping hours on Sundays and public holidays. The city council in Assen will discuss a proposal from D66 tonight to extend the opening hours for supermarkets.
One of those supermarkets is the City Spar in Assen. Entrepreneur Nico van Dijk held a protest in his shop on Noordersingel last spring, after he had been reprimanded by the municipal council. It was also open on Sunday morning after the corona period, while that was not allowed. In times of corona, shops were allowed to open longer. Two months ago, during the city council, he handed over 500 statements of support to the council for extending the opening hours.
During the same council, D66 came up with a proposal for full opening hours for all shops on Sunday. At the time, a council majority seemed to say ‘yes’ to a Sunday opening, but part of them only saw bread in expansion for the food sector. D66 therefore went back to the drawing board to adjust the plan.
In the new proposal, the Asser party wants to give all supermarkets in the municipality the choice to be open between 06:00 in the morning and 22:00 in the evening. At the moment, many supermarkets in Assen are already open on Sunday from 12:00 to 18:00.
Several supermarkets are in favor of that plan. The three Jumbo branches in the provincial capital indicate that they fully support the proposal. “In corona time and also after corona time, it has been proven that there is a need and demand for this in the municipality of Assen,” says a letter signed by the three company managers.
The manager of the Albert Heijn in Peelo also likes the proposal. “We were also allowed to open earlier during the corona period and the customers liked that,” says Richard Hillenga. He emphasizes that the head office of his branch must ultimately make the decision to open. “And then it’s with all the shops open or not.”
Other supermarkets in Assen indicate that they cannot say anything about the proposal.
The Municipal Executive previously indicated that it saw no reason for the proposed expansion. “The initiative proposal arose from the need of one entrepreneur located in the center,” says a letter to the council. The Board leaves the judgment on this proposal to the Council because the consideration “is not so much about hard facts, but about political and personal preference.”
The council will respond to the new proposal tonight. Van Dijk of the City Spar is now anxiously waiting: “Now they can no longer say that I am the only entrepreneur who benefits from it.”