"Ms Dörner has a list of 25 tenancies that will be terminated in the next six months. The other 25 did not want to be on the list," said Hagen. He said there had always been fluctuation in the City, but the shops had been re-let directly when they were terminated. The branch of the shoe chain Görtz on the Markt had also given notice. "This is one of the most exposed shops, rectangular, glazed, barrier-free and no pillars: You can't sell fashion better than that," said Hagen. He said the owner has been trying to find a new tenant for months, but has had no takers so far. Lillemor Brandenburg, spokeswoman for Görtz, confirmed that the company would close its Bonn branch at the end of July: "As part of the restructuring process, we are required to constantly review the branch network and must act immediately if individual branches are not operating profitably in the long term." The shoe retailer had slipped into insolvency last year.

When big names move out of the city centre, it loses its attractiveness, said Hagen, referring to the departure of the fashion giant Zara a few years ago. Such shops bring frequency into the city centre. It would be different if a pay toilet moved into pubs in prime locations, the IHK president explained in an interview with the GA. "The current vacancy rate, including properties whose rents expire by the end of the year and are not renewed, is at a level not seen for over five decades, at around 40 shops," said Jannis Vassiliou, chairman of the retail association. While footfall is now back at a good level, sales are down by up to 20 per cent compared to 2019, depending on the sector, he added.

To increase the trade tax on the burdened economy because of budget problems and "escalating personnel costs", as the Bonn council recently decided, "borders on impertinence", Hagen explained. According to the current economic report of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the climate in the retail sector continues to be gloomy. Only twelve per cent report good business. At the beginning of the year, the figure was 28 per cent.

Hagen also referred to the recently published traffic survey conducted by the IHK together with the Cologne Chamber of Crafts: 55 percent of the companies located in Bonn perceived a worsening of traffic problems for cars and trucks in the past five years. "I am not against the traffic turnaround," Hagen emphasised. But people must first be offered alternatives before parking spaces are "abolished" as in Südstadt, he said. The IHK president called for an improvement of public transport, including park-and-ride facilities along tram line 66, as well as neighbourhood garages. With better public transport, business traffic in Bonn would once again make better progress. However, the objections were not heard by Bonn's politicians, said Hagen. Retail association chairman Jannis Vassiliou demanded that politicians and the city finally reduce commuter traffic, for example by expanding park-and-ride areas with connections for buses from Bonn's major companies.

"The accessibility of Bonn's city centre can be rated as satisfactory to good," said Markus Schmitz from the city's press office on Wednesday, referring to the Vitale Innenstädte study from November 2022. The city wants to improve pedestrian subways, parking facilities for bicycles and the reliability of public transport. According to the administration, there are more than 4000 parking spaces in underground and multi-storey car parks in Bonn's inner city.

The city says it is "observing changes in retail uses in Bonn's centres, including the development of temporary and longer vacancies." It is in an exchange about this with the stakeholders, including landlords. Schmitz also referred to the Inner City 2.0 master plan and the inner city management, which started its activities at the beginning of the year.

"As commercial landlords in Bonn in prime and prime locations, we have never before found such a difficult economic environment as today, which is being created completely artificially and deliberately by politics," said Philipp Blömer, Managing Director of Blömer am Markt GmbH & Co. KG. As co-chairman of the City-Marketing Bonn association, he explained that an above-average number of shops in prime locations in the city centre were currently under contract. The association relies on information from estate agents and members, and expects an increased level of vacancies and lower-quality re-letting in the future, such as of toilet facilities. According to Blömer, the city centre is actually in good condition despite global developments such as Corona, but city policy measures restricting motorised private transport are depriving the struggling trade of customers "who demonstrably account for most of the turnover."