Amsterdam’s plan to build a giant erotic centre is scrapped

Amsterdam city council’s coalition has dropped plans to build a giant erotic centre close to the Zuidas business district, the Parool reported on Friday.

The new administration – made up of the PvdA, GroenLinks and D66 for the third time in a row – also plans to make cuts to council spending of some €350 million, the paper said, citing sources close to the talks.

The new strategy will involve cutting back on civil service numbers and taking a closer look at what tasks the council will and will not take on, the sources said. There will also be a greater emphasis on service provision for locals and businesses.

Plans to set up an erotic centre and close down some of the red light district brothels also appear to have been scrapped, the sources said. D66 said earlier it did not want to press ahead with the plan, which has been slammed by locals and schools close to the location, as well as Zuidas businesses.

Instead, the coalition parties say they will look at developing smaller “red light” locations to relieve pressure on the city centre, the Parool said. Mayor Femke Halsema, however, is known to be sceptical about that idea because of local resistance and the cost.

The parties have also said they do not plan to put up property taxes, which are paid by home owners only, and want to continue with the 40-40-20 division between social, mid-market and expensive homes in new developments.

This, however, may well be blocked by national government, which plans to stop local councils taking a different line to the nationally agreed 30% social housing ceiling.

All the new administration’s plans will be presented to the public on June 3. Amsterdam will be the first of the big four cities to publish its strategy following the March local elections.