Amsterdam city council has been ordered to pay a brothel owner over €40,000 in compensation because it took too long to decide whether she could have a licence.

Nathalie Venekamp claimed in court she was losing €2,060 a week on renting out rooms in the city’s red light district because of officials’ slow progress. The windows were empty for 20 weeks.
The court ruled that council had taken too long and ordered it to compensate Venekamp for her loss of earnings.