A Note on the Law of 29 June 1975 to Control Large Scale Retail Development in Belgium

Abstract

The Business Premises Act in Belgium has been in operation for five years and seeks to control the development of large shops. From a review of the workings of the Act it appears that it was introduced too late to have much impact on supermarket development, but has succeeded in slowing the growth in the number of hypermarkets. Under the implementation procedure it appears that there are considerable differences in permission rates for different types of development and a notable size differential between approved and refused applications.