Vision municipality: Assen has too many square meters of supermarket

In Assen there are nine shopping locations in different categories. The Triad in the center will be the main shopping location, with two supermarkets and a few other shops. Where non-daily shopping is also done. This is followed by a number of large community centers where there are two large supermarkets, but also shops for household items. These are located in Kloosterveen and Marsdijk.

The others are small community centers with two supermarkets or a community center with one supermarket and some additional groceries, such as a bakery. It is striking that Assen has too much surface area when it comes to supermarkets. The current stores will not disappear because of this, but in principle there are no more development opportunities for the supermarkets. So they don’t get any bigger. There are exceptions, but this depends on the position and position in the future.

The thrift shops are mentioned separately in the vision. “The economy is moving towards a more circular use.” These shops fit in well with the shopping area, the municipality writes. But if they are also engaged in collecting goods and possibly displaying them for buyers. Then a location outside the shopping area can also suffice. There is more space here and it is easier to reach.

De Borgstee is a business park located between the Peelo and Marsdijk districts. According to the vision, there is a lack of individual profile for the various sub-areas of the Borgstee. There is now a bit of all shops everywhere. The municipality calls it “a clutter that results in a use of spatial quality.”

“In the future, the Borgstee will be able to develop into an attractive residential boulevard with a regional function. Where the customer likes to come to view and compare. To achieve this and to respond to the decreasing supply of shops in the field of housing and design, concentration around the Borgstee site is desirable, so that more cohesion is created,” the plan states.

Companies that are already established on the site can simply stay there. In addition to these ambitions, the municipality is mainly involved in changing the function of retail space to other functions, such as housing.

A sounding board group with representatives from Vaart in Assen, SME Retail Assen, Ondernemend Assen, several individual entrepreneurs and representatives from the neighborhood shopping centers was used to create the vision.

The previous vision on retailing dates back to 2009. This new plan should replace the old vision. The new city council in Assen will vote on the plan on Thursday 14 April. If the vision is adopted, the municipality can get to work. The vision will then form a guideline when drawing up the environmental plan/zoning plan.