Center and local supply concept
City centers and district centers should remain vibrant hubs of commercial life. For this reason, large-scale supermarkets should not be built outside these centers - for example in commercial areas - but within them. In order to control this development, the city of Aachen has drawn up a center and local supply concept, which was updated by council resolution on 29 June 2016.
Aachen follows Germany-wide trend
The center and local supply concept also includes an inventory of the respective retail situation. Compared to the last concept adopted by the council in 2011, both the sales area and the number of retail outlets have decreased. The survey was carried out - quite deliberately - before the Aquis Plaza shopping center was completed. In Aachen, too, the retail sector is thus following the trend observed throughout Germany, whereby food retailers in particular are increasing their sales space, but small-scale retail is declining, especially in peripheral locations. Vacancies are increasingly being converted into services or residential space.
Only valid for businesses with more than 800 square meters
The center and local supply concept is a guideline for the administration when examining new settlements. It also serves as a basis for drawing up development plans. It provides guidance for retailers, especially for investors, but is not intended as a means of protection against further competitors. Businesses with sales areas of less than 800 square meters are not covered by the concept; they can be set up anywhere. Corresponding stipulations in the development plans must of course be observed.
The aim of the center and local supply concept is to prevent large-scale supermarkets in the commercial areas and to maintain the attractiveness of the historic core centers. This also takes place against the backdrop of demographic change: older people should continue to have the opportunity to buy everyday goods within walking distance in the town centers.
The center and local supply concept defines various supply areas for the city of Aachen on a plot-by-plot basis. A distinction is made between the main center (City Aachen), district centers and local supply centers. While the concept itself does not impose any restrictions on new retail establishments in a main center, the city and local supply centers are subject to various conditions. Large retail businesses with sales areas of more than 800 square meters cannot be permitted outside of centers, especially if they sell a so-called center-relevant product range. These include, for example, consumer electronics, toys, music, sporting goods, books, watches, jewelry, shoes and clothing.
These local supply/centre or non-centre-relevant product ranges are listed in an "Aachen product range list", which is part of the center concept. It serves as a basis for the assessment of retail trade projects and for retail trade regulations in development plans. The approval of new establishments depends on the size of the planned sales area, the product range and the purchasing power of the residents in the catchment area. Depending on the type of retail, each square meter ties up a certain amount of purchasing power, which is determined statistically.
Aachen is the regional center for the region
Aachen's city center is considered the regional center for the entire Aachen city region, and the actual retail sales generated here are higher than those that could be expected from the available purchasing power of the residents. This is because the surrounding area also shops in Aachen. This so-called centrality index is 128 percent for the entire city of Aachen, with around 333 million euros of the total turnover of 1,503 million euros flowing into the imperial city from the former district area, among others.
A significant proportion of the retail trade is concentrated in Aachen's city center. There are 356,000 square meters of retail space here, 87 percent of the total space, which generates sales of around 1,270 million euros.
In addition to Aachen city center as the main center, the following areas are defined as district centers: Burtscheid, Brand and the area around Elsassstraße. Local supply centers are Frankenberger Viertel, Trierer Platz, Soers, Eilendorf/Severinstraße, Eilendorf/Markt, Haaren, Walheim, Laurensberg, Steppenberg/Kullen and Richterich. Precise maps of the areas with plot-specific definitions can be found in the appendix to the center and local supply concept, which can be viewed here (new concept).