By Charlotte Van Campenhout
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Amsterdam is banning fast-delivery grocery companies from setting up so-called dark stores in residential areas, the local city council decided late Wednesday, citing noise and nuisance complaints from the public.
Dark stores, small distribution hubs used by burgeoning fast grocery services such as Gorillas and Getir, will only be allowed in business parks, or – in exceptional cases – in mixed residential-work areas.
“Amsterdammers will receive a nicer living environment”, Reinier van Dantzig, the municipal executive responsible for the city’s spatial planning, said in a statement, adding the new policy would help tackle the proliferation of delivery drivers in residential areas.
Turkey’s Getir, which bought its German rival Gorrilas last year in a $1.2 billion deal, said in a statement it was disappointed by the decision.
“This zoning plan discriminates. It treats our industry differently than similar delivery services.”
Getir said it “will continue to fight for equal treatment.”
(Reporting by Charlotte Van CampenhoutEditing by Mark Potter)
