A catering business of 600 square meters will be built in two centuries-old buildings on the edge of the city center of Den Bosch. Much to the dismay of local residents and the neighborhood council. They want the council to revoke the catering permit. “Whether it is an all you can eat or a luxury restaurant, those hundreds to a thousand catering visitors are going to cause a nuisance,” says local resident John Stohr (71).
John has lived for years on the edge of the Gasthuiskwartier, an area adjacent to the busy city center of Den Bosch. The Groot Ziekengasthuis, the center of healthcare for the city, used to be located in that area. Two centuries-old buildings remain from that time. The Old Pharmacy of the former hospital and the Regentenhuis that was used as a meeting location.
The municipality of Den Bosch has now issued a permit for catering in both buildings. There will be one or more restaurants on an area of 600 square meters.
“That is a quarter of the Korte Putstraat,” responds John, who is against the plan. The catering establishments are expected to attract hundreds of visitors in an evening. “If I had wanted to live near busy catering establishments, I would have bought a house in the Uilenburg or on the Parade.”
“The municipality says without motivation: ‘We do catering after all’.”
The municipality of Den Bosch has been wanting to breathe new life into the buildings for a long time. The original plan was housing and ‘something cultural or social’. And possibly a small-scale hotel with a maximum of ten to twenty rooms.
In 2019, it was rumored that catering would be opened after all. “The municipality has always denied that,” says local resident John. A year later, B and W came up with the plan for a party café in the Gasthuiskwartier. But because local residents and council members did not like this, the plan was scrapped again.
“The council has now said without any motivation: ‘We do catering after all.’ We asked the councilor why that decision was made, but we never received an answer,” says John, who speaks on behalf of twelve local residents.
“Hundreds of catering visitors cause too much nuisance.”
The Gasthuisstraat, where many of the objectors live, used to be a dead end street. But the age-old entrance gate in the street is now open. This is because the old hospital site on the other side of that gate has been significantly expanded in recent years with new construction. The local residents’ street has since been used as a connecting road between the new Gasthuiskwartier and the city center.
“That already creates extra commotion in our street. That’s not a problem, because you know that if you live in the city center. But it is expected that hundreds more catering visitors will walk and cycle through our street in the evening. That causes too much inconvenience,” says John.
“In addition, there are also people who have only bought a house in the Gasthuiskwartier in recent years. They moved here with the idea that it would remain a quiet place and now there is a busy catering business next to their house.”
Four residents filed a lawsuit against the municipality of Den Bosch. They want the council to revoke the catering permit. The case will come before the administrative judge on Tuesday. The municipality of Den Bosch has stated that it cannot respond to the issue because the matter is before the courts.