Emmen does not want a store on an industrial estate, the entrepreneur does not understand the decision

An entrepreneur on the De Tweeling industrial estate in Veenoord hopes that the municipality will take a more lenient attitude in a protracted conflict over his business premises.

He would like to have a supermarket or another store there, as emerged today during a court case at the Council of State in The Hague. His building is currently not rentable and that is costing him money.

The entrepreneur previously submitted the same question to the Council of State. At the end of November 2022, the highest administrative court instructed the municipality of Emmen to clearly explain again why it does not want retail there. The municipality did so, after which a new rejection followed and Otter was back on the benches in The Hague today.

The entrepreneur’s lawyer said that Emmen’s new rejection decision ‘doesn’t make any sense’ and that he ‘has not read any new or convincing arguments’. “Emmen is still acting in violation of the European Services Directive. I see no reason why a shop is not allowed in its building.”

Emmen’s municipal spokesperson saw it differently and explained that the municipality does have a well-substantiated story. “Emmen does not want retail there because the industrial estate of Veenoord and New Amsterdam is mainly intended for heavy industry,” she says. “We only want shops and supermarkets in the village centres. And for shops selling bulky goods such as caravans, boats and cars, we have other business parks in the municipality. If we allow a large shop or supermarket in the building, this will lead to vacancies and bankruptcies of shops in the village centers.”

Nevertheless, the Council of State wanted to know whether there was some form of retail that would fit in there. Municipal lawyers then said that a small-scale bicycle shop, or a car company where repairs are also carried out in addition to sales, might be possible. The municipality would like to talk about that, the spokeswoman said.

But Emmen does not want a very large store with a regional or even national appearance. Because that would be at the expense of shops and quality of life in the villages. A retail expert who brought the entrepreneur along did not understand the municipal position. “A mega bicycle shop seems very good to me. Because if a lot of visitors come from the region, there is a good chance that they will visit the shops in the villages,” says the expert.

The Council of State will make its decision in a few weeks.