Leuven applies for tourist centre status to allow more shopping
Leuven’s city council would like to see its Sunday opening days increase from 15 to 40 a year to compete with both e-commerce and new retail centres popping up around Brussels
Open Sundays
“We want to give businesses in Leuven more of a chance in their battle against e-commerce,” said councillor for businesses Eric Vanderheiden. “In the future, we’d like to have one shopping day per month. The opening hours on those Sundays would be limited to 13.00-18.00.”
In related news, retailers and shoppers in the centre of Leuven are still digesting the effects of the new traffic plan that has been phased in since August. The plan is meant to ease up congestion in the centre of town. Initial reactions from retailers have not been positive. The city council, however, is convinced that the plan will benefit local commerce.
A new factor in the equation is Docks Bruxsel, which opened at the weekend. Leuven had filed a complaint against the new shopping and leisure centre before the Council of State, which ruled that the city had no standing to object. Most of the retail shops at Docks are not open on Sundays but will be on two Sundays in December.
Photo courtesy Tourism Leuven
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