The municipality of Emmen takes on the construction and rental of twelve social rental cars at De Ark caravan center. A step that is part of an expansion plan for a total of 42 new pitches. The concerns around the long -awaited expansion were therefore not yet gone at the Emmer fractions and the caravan dwellers themselves. This was apparent from tonight’s committee meeting.
The long -awaited expansion of the center finally seemed within reach last year, but the Lefier housing association withdrew as a financier for the social rental wages at the last minute. “It felt like the ribbon had almost been cut,” says Marie Smit-Bosma on behalf of the Rolleman committee. “But now we have lost everything. In our beautiful Netherlands, where supposedly everything is possible, we are not allowed to be there again. We have 230 families on the waiting list, some for 35 years. Our need is high,” says Smit-Bosma.
Rolleman committee, in which residents and former residents of the camp work together, has been working since 2018 on the expansion plans for the Ark. There is now a concrete proposal for 42 new pitches 30 spaces and 12 rental cars spread over the current caravan center De Ark and at the caravan location on the Van Eckweg.
Smit-Bosma made a final call in the Commission Meeting on Monday evening: “We ask you: As a municipality, take the financing of the 12 rental wages on you. You are our last straw.”
Alderman Albert Jan Jakobs announced that he would share the disappointment. “We were advanced in the process and thought we had everything around. The sudden withdrawal of the corporation was a big blow.” The municipality now wants to make the investment itself and have the rental places installed. “We expect to be able to submit a proposal to the council in September,” said the alderman.
An important part of the discussion was also about the powers. From now on, the Commission wants to be able to determine a caravan policy itself, in order to be able to act faster. This came across criticism from different parties. “With that we give control of control,” warned the SP. The PVV and VVD also wondered how the council remains involved in decision -making on this sensitive issue.
Most parties expressed their support for the plans and recognized the importance of expansion. Yet they also expressed worries about the implementation. For example, the CDA wondered if 34 new places are enough to tackle the waiting lists. D66 and Hart voor Emmen wondered why the college only now wants to take a grip on policy, while little progress has been made in the last eleven years.
According to alderman Jakobs, the city council emphatically holds control over future extensions of caravan center De Ark, including the corresponding financing. “It is certainly not the intention to put the council offside,” he emphasized. The plans for the 42 new pitches of which 12 intended for social rent will be submitted to the council in September. Until that time, the situation remains uncertain for many families.
The waiting list for a place on the caravan center has since risen to around 240 families considerably more than the number of places that is now being realized. Jakobs acknowledges that the need is far from resolved: “This is a first pass, but it does not provide an answer to the full question. We continue to focus on further expansion of the Ark.”