Limiting the open hours of shopping malls for weekends is not only a matter or economy or survival for smaller traders but also a very wide socially-important issue, said Minister of Agriculture Didzis Šmits in an interview to Latvijas Radio on Wednesday, the 12th of April.
He said the Ministry of Agriculture’s
work on a legislative draft for the closure of large shopping malls on Sundays continues,
and the minister’s advisor for legal affairs is also working on the initial redaction of the project.
Šmits stressed that this is not an initiative to support small traders, as talks about restricting shopping malls happened before. At the same time, Šmits said the government leans more in favour of this legislative draft than against. He said he hopes it will be approved.
He also mentioned the main goal of the legislative draft is giving smaller traders some space and diversifying the trade sector. At the same time, there is the social aspect, specifically work during holidays.
“It is not just a matter of economy or protecting smaller traders, it is also a very wide social matter,” said the minister.
Riga City Council chairman Mārtiņš Staķis explained that this topic can be viewed from at least two perspectives. On the one hand there is welfare of workers and businessmen, when it is necessary to adapt to the rules dictated by large shopping malls. On the other hand this is an attempt to return traders to Riga’s centre, where it is not uncommon to find empty store windows.
“I have to say this is no panacea,” said Staķis.
Although he generally supports the idea, Riga’s mayor does not believe closing shopping malls on Sundays may contribute to the blossoming of the city centre.
“The fact that shopping malls in the city are becoming empty is not a problem unique to Riga – it is a problem for all of Europe. All cities are busy tackling this issue,” stressed Staķis, adding that if no decisions are made, there is a possibility of large city centres becoming “ghost towns”.
Spice shopping mall board member Iveta Priedīte said shopping malls see an increase of 30-40% when it come to visitors on weekends when compared with workdays. As one of the reasons she mentioned the specifics of the era, as well as the fact that approximately eight months a year are not favourable for family special activities outdoors.
She also said that in recent years the pandemic has added certain corrections. There was also a surge of energy prices, during which shopping malls have had to limit their open hours. According to her, the sector currently has no plans to return to their previous active hours.
Staķis added that the main threat to city centres is not shopping malls, but rather remote work. “Even if it’s Riga City Council, which reduced temperature on Mondays and permitted workers to work remotely – these are 5 500 to 7 000 people who simply do not drive to the city centre during the day,” said the politician.
He mentioned that outlooks from experts suggest approximately half of the people who currently work at their PCs, will work remotely, which will affect traders and service providers’ everyday operations. The same applies to the transport sector.
“I am very surprised with the opinion from the Ministry of Economics,” said Šmits during the discussion.
He agreed the plan for the closure of shopping malls on Sundays would benefit from additional economic evaluation. However, he expects opponents of the idea should work more on their counter-arguments.
Commenting on the situation in Riga and future plans, Staķis said a large number of European cities are concerned about residents distancing away from city centres. He mentioned that when he visited London some time ago, he attended a conference regarding ways to improve the situation. He said there are plans to use Bristol’s example to develop Riga.
The plan basically provides for the municipality paying businesses financial support to afford lasting rent of required premises. This is a form of a grant that is paid in parts to promote use of space.
Staķis mentioned Bristol is not in the EU, so studies and discussions will continue for the best ways to pay this support. “I know businessmen who are at 50:50 when it comes to predictions about the future. This grant could help progress this spiral in a positive direction,” explained Staķis.
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