Amsterdam wants to force dark stores to move from neighborhoods to business parks

Amsterdam has decided to move rapid grocery delivery services’ dark stores from residential neighborhoods to business parks, the city said on Thursday. According to responsible alderman Renier van Dantzig, these establishments would fit better into business parks. And court rulings confirming dark stores’ closures in residential neighborhoods make Amsterdam confident that the moves would be allowed.

In January, the city decided not to allow any new rapid delivery services or dark stores to open in Amsterdam for a year, to give the local government time to figure out how to deal with them.

In the meantime, the city has ordered several dark stores in residential neighborhoods to close because they did not fit into the zoning plan. The courts have confirmed multiple of those decisions. For example, earlier this month, the court ruled that the city could close a Flink establishment on the Nassaukade because it did not fit the zoning plan.

“Rapid delivery from dark stores is an economic activity that is on the rise but is difficult to fit into a residential area,” alderman Van Dantzig said. “Under certain conditions, these establishments could be integrated into industrial estates. With this decision, we make it possible for these companies to move from residential areas to business parks. This way, we keep neighborhoods liveable, and Amsterdam residents can still get their groceries delivered.”

The city is still working on an umbrella zoning plan for dark stores, which it plans to enter into public consultation in the first quarter of next year. But according to Van Dantzig, the court rulings confirming Amsterdam’s closure of dark stores in residential neighborhoods make it reasonable to now move these establishments to business parks, where they will fit better.

The dark stores will still have to meet the city’s requirements and must not affect the living environment or limit the use of public space.