Brabant is the first province in the Netherlands that, in addition to closing the front door, now also closes the back door to mega-large logistics companies that add nothing to the local economy. The already strict rules in Brabant are being tightened even further, because there appear to be some holes in the system.
Deputy Erik Ronnes said that on Thursday morning. The province has already designated four locations where large logistics companies can still be located: Tilburg, Veghel, Heesch-West and Haps. This prevented the so-called ‘box pushers’ of more than three hectares from settling in other places.
But in the future, space could still be created for those XXL logistics companies on a third of all business parks in Brabant, because the zoning plan allows this. This is possible, for example, if existing company buildings are demolished and a large logistics company reports to take up that space.
The province and all 56 municipalities in Brabant have now agreed that they will draw up rules together as soon as possible so that this is no longer possible. “After we had already closed the front door by designating four business parks, we now want to close the back door as well,” says deputy Ronnes. A Chinese megastore that wants to build an XXL warehouse of more than three hectares in Brabant, purely to serve the European market from there, is no longer welcome.
Addition of local economy
The most important criterion for approval is that a company must add something to the local economy. How that is determined strongly depends on the region. The measure is being taken because the land in Brabant is scarce. Local companies that want to expand are sometimes supplanted by the XXL logistics companies. In addition, resistance is increasing because many people find those huge boxes an encroachment on the landscape.
Ronnes is aware that the strict measure that Brabant now wants to take may lead to large international companies moving to other places. “We are aware of the waterbed effect. That is why I hope that the minister will take the Brabant initiative to heart and develop national policy on it,” says Ronnes.
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