From this month, Heemskerk residents can also do their shopping on Sundays until 8 p.m. for a year. It is still an experiment, but some residents of the apartments above the Jumbo on Haydnplein think that the bullet is already through the church and the supermarket will now be permanently open on Sunday evenings. “It’s a sweet keeper,” says a resident who expects more nuisance from now on.
The trial was started in response to the wishes of supermarkets in Heemskerk, which until now had to close their doors on Sundays at 5 p.m. By staying open three hours longer, they hope to better serve their customers. Yet not everyone is happy with this expansion, as it turns out when NH News visits the apartment complex above the Jumbo on Haydnplein.
Rest taken away
Some residents are happy with the extended opening hours, others fear that their Sunday evening hours will be disrupted from now on. Among them is a resident who wishes to remain anonymous. “Sunday evening was the only night we had a rest and that is now being taken away from us,” she told NH.
“I can’t open my balcony door. There is constant traffic noise. When the Jumbo is closed, the square will be quiet. And then you can sit on the balcony. If I knew it was going to turn out like this, I wouldn’t have come to live here.”
“If you don’t have groceries in the house, that’s not my problem”
Neighbor Dennis agrees: “The cars bother me, it’s noisy and you hear honking. You can go shopping for I don’t know how many hours all week. The Jumbo is open all week from six to ten. Does it have to be until later on Sunday? If you don’t have groceries at home, that’s not my problem, you should arrange that earlier when they are open.
‘Sunday kind of rest day’
Resident Gerard is a bit more nuanced: “Actually, Sunday is of course a kind of rest day, so five o’clock seems like a good time to close. I understand that we have to move with the times, but you have lost your peace a bit. And for what? It is a bag of chips or something, purely for convenience.”
Some residents of the complex are not worried, but rather happy that they can also go to the store on Sunday evening for a forgotten message. Resident Peter Klus likes it: “First you had to make sure you had your groceries in your house before five on Sunday, and now you can take it easy.” Mrs. Scholten also sees it positively: “Isn’t it wonderful? You have everything within reach here. People shouldn’t complain like that.”
A number of neighbors join him and have nothing against the plans. “I go to the Jumbo every day and I really like it. It doesn’t bother me at all and I like that there are shops,” says Mrs Walsmit. Neighbor Geeke also sees no problem in the change. “I have no problem with it. It may be a bit noisy, but that doesn’t bother me.”
After the trial period
The coming year will show whether concerned residents experience more nuisance on Sunday evenings between 5 and 8 p.m. After that, a decision is made about the period after, although some residents think that it has already been determined what will happen next year.
“Jumbo wanted to extend its opening hours before and then a number of residents already objected. The decision was made with this pilot. The whole process was to keep us busy,” says a resident.
“We’ll see how it goes, we hope for positive results and extension”
Gerard also doubts whether the extended opening hours can still be reversed if the residents do not like it. “Two years ago we already had something like this. Then the Jumbo wanted to open longer. It didn’t happen at the time, but it will continue now. I have some doubts about whether they really do anything with it if people are against.”
Sense of involvement
Just like Gerard, Dennis has the idea that his vote doesn’t count. “The pilot is just to make you feel like you have a say, but you don’t. That was also the case with the entire renovation of the parking lot.”
The Jumbo indicates that it is really up to the municipality. “We are just going along with the pilot and we will see how it goes. In a year’s time, the municipality will evaluate what residents of Haydnplein and residents and Heemskerk think of the expansion and then they will make a decision. We hope for positive results and an extension,” says manager Sterre.