Good news for the hospitality industry at Stratumseind in Eindhoven. The council has turned a blind eye to Saturday night’s action and will also meet the businessess halfway. Pubs used the match between PSV and Ajax as an opportunity to take action.
The match was shown on large TV screens in the pubs, although the council had not given permission for this. Up until Tuesday afternoon, it was unclear whether the protest would have any consequences. Youri de Bok, owner of Café Tracé, heard the good news. “This is really great. We want to cooperate with the council and not be afraid of them. The feeling that we are being bullied stops now. There is now room to talk to each other”.
Not tolerated, not enforced either
From now on, the council will not clamp down the use of TV screens. De Bok: “To be precise, they said that it will not be tolerated, because it is simply not allowed, but they will no longer enforce the ban”. The words were carefully chosen by the council. “We must stick to the national rules, but we focus enforcement differently. It will be focussed on public health. Only when people sit too close together or with more than four people at one table, will we enforce the rules”, the council says.
From now on, catering business owners will first be warned before measures, such as a two-week closure, are taken. Council: “We understand very well that the catering industry is having a hard time. Corona is not going to disappear for the time being, so it is important to make things clear. The enforcer points out a violation to the business and then the problem has to be solved immediately”. The new form of working together takes effect immediately.
Action
Saturday’s action was supported by some twenty-five pubs. The protest was peaceful. There were policemen walking around who noted down which pubs had screens, but they did not intervene. In the end, nothing was done with the notes.
Source: www.studio040.nl
Eindhoven News translator: Bob
