Eleven percent of businesses in pedestrian zone vacant

According to figures obtained by a Brussels member of parliament, local businesses have been hit hard by the city’s decision to pedestrianise one of the capital’s central boulevards.

Boulevard Anspach was abruptly pedestrianised in 2015 by the previous Brussels government, a decision that was fiercely criticized by businesses located in the pedestrian zone.

According to Brussels MEP Veronique Lefrancq, 130 businesses in the pedestrianised area between the Bourse and square Fontainas currently remain vacant. She has said the number of vacant shops increased by 2% between 2015 and 2019, from 9.45% to 11.45%. Although these figures suggest that only three shops became vacant in the last four years, Lefrancq said the figures might be misleading.

“The general increase in commercial vacancies can be interpreted as a sign of reconfiguration – the number of activities that were stopped decreased” due to bankruptcies or relocations for instance, Lefrancq told Bruzz. “But at the same time the number of new owners probably hasn’t increased.”

According to State Secretary for the Economy Barbara Trachte, the impact of the pedestrian zone on local businesses is being exaggerated by Lefrancq. She said that there was a sharp decrease in the number of visitors after the inauguration of the pedestrian zone in 2015. But the visitor figures quickly increased after that and resumed their 2014 levels in 2018 and 2019, she said. 

Photo: Belga / Rachelle Dufour 

Written by Linda A. Thompson