Brussels introduces snack bar freeze

Ms Lemesre wants to prevent entire streets only having cafés and eateries and no other commercial premises.

The City of Brussels will only allow new hospitality outlets to open in premises already designated for this purpose. Marion Lemesre told the radio station FM Brussel: “In certain areas like the Vlaamsesteenweg or the UNESCO zone we are eager to preserve a mix of commercial activities.”

In the Sint-Jacobs district local residents and traders raised the matter with the authorities themselves.

But not everybody is happy: a few weeks ago the Ghent business Wasbar that combines a café with a laundry salon complained how difficult it was to find suitable premises in the City of Brussels because of obstruction by the city authorities.

Marion Lemesre: “I’ve got nothing against this café-cum-laundry salon. If they find premises that are designated for hospitality sector use, that’s fine. Imagine I grant them permission to set up business in new premises, and then if they go to the wall next year, I am powerless to prevent the umpteenth snack bar from opening there.”

Flandersnews.be / Expatica