‘No new licences to be issued for businesses in residential areas’

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) will stop accepting applications to open certain businesses in residential buildings, a GAM official said on Tuesday. 

Ali Hadidi, director of GAM’s professional licences and advertising department, said the decision was taken to organise the licensing process.

“The municipality wants to study the whole city and do a field survey about businesses located in residential buildings,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone. 

GAM will stop accepting applications to open groceries, pharmacies, kindergartens, clinics and beauty salons until April 1, 2016, the official noted. 

Between 6,000 and 7,000 such outlets operate in residential areas in Amman. 

“GAM wants to identify the areas that lack such services and the neighbourhoods that are already overcrowded with them,” Hadidi added. 

The official stressed that the decision does not affect stores already operating in residential areas, and they can renew their licences. 

In May, GAM started enforcing a fixed closing time for cafés, nightclubs, carpentry shops and other places licensed as commercial outlets in residential areas.

The move was prompted by “a great number of public nuisance complaints filed by residents”, Hadidi said at the time.

“Many people have complained that they cannot live in peace due to the noise from these places. Celebration halls are also covered by the decision,” he said in previous remarks to The Jordan Times.

These facilities are required to close down at midnight during summer and at 11pm in winter.