This Thursday morning, Willy Borsus, Walloon Minister for the Economy, is the guest of BEL RTL matin. He came to unveil the recovery plan for commerce in the city center in Wallonia.
It will have escaped no one: more and more empty shops in the streets of Wallonia in recent years. And for good reason: one commercial building out of 8 is not occupied in Wallonia. Guest of BEL RTL morning, Willy Borsus, Walloon Minister of Economy announced the recovery plan, “a bundle of measures”, for retail in the city centre. Its budget is 7 million euros.
Among the measures announced, assistance with setting up shopkeepers, to “support those who come to occupy the cells that were empty before”. Those who arrive in the 100 cities – compared to 40 with the Créashop device – selected “will benefit from a grant of 6000€ supported by a local jury” who will examine and potentially validate the project. The idea is therefore to accompany “new merchants with a new project“. 40% of the 262 Walloon towns are covered by this system.
For traders already established, the ministry supports the reorientation. “For a whole series of traders there will also be the possibility of significantly redirecting their activity”understand: “reinventing itself to meet changing needs and customer demand”.
Finally, Willy Borsus indicated that the aid to compensate for losses due to works in town would be reassessed. “The impact of the works for traders is a major difficulty”, admits the minister, evoking Liège but also other municipalities. In the future, the works will therefore be examined in order to disturb trade as little as possible. Also “the number of compensable days” will be expanded. “The biggest projects will be over the course of a year”finally announces Willy Borsus.