Amsterdam's Waterlooplein market to be halved, renovated

The city of Amsterdam is planning to renovate the degrading Waterlooplein. And to make space for these renovations, the Waterlooplein market will be more than halved for the foreseeable future, Het Parool reports.

Amsterdam wants to turn the Waterlooplein into more of a city square, with more plants and grass and more seating. This means that the market will no longer be the square's only user and the square will take on another function after market hours.

The market can remain, but will be reduced to a "core market" - meaning that only 125 of the current 283 market spaces will be available. After the renovations, the market will be allowed to grow again. But until then, only the 95 regular stall holders and 30 candidate stall holders who were on the market at least three days a week over the past year will be allowed to stay. For the other 378 candidates who registered for the market, there is no place for the time being.

Marco van der Rijst, chairman of the Waterlooplein Market Association, is shocked by these plans. "It is unacceptable that a new rule conjured out of a top hat removes candidates who were not at the market three days a week. They are entrepreneurs who invested years into this and also have financial obligations."