No fewer than four security guards have been guarding the entrance to Parc de Kievit in Baarle-Nassau since Monday morning, and for good reason. There is great unrest at the recreation park. On Monday morning, park owner Eric van Veggel closed the sewerage of several houses in the park and the entrance gate was no longer opened for every resident. That same morning there was a fight between residents, during which an officer was also beaten.
There has been disagreement between the manager and a number of residents of the park for some time. The residents are angry about the increase in park charges, which was implemented by the previous park owner. The current owner Eric van Veggel took over those park charges when he became owner of the park in September 2024.
Willem Zwalve is chairman of the Parc de Kievit Interest Association, which represents about two-thirds of the residents, or more than three hundred people. According to him, the owner is now increasing the park costs even further. “That increase is not necessary at all. It is more than a doubling on an annual basis. The increase is not well substantiated, it is just guesswork.”
Many residents refuse to pay. “During the takeover, there was great distrust towards the previous owners,” says current owner Van Veggel. “There was already a financial backlog in the payment of the park charges. We tried to be open about this and to resolve it together with the interest group. Unfortunately, they actually called on their members not to pay.” According to him, the park went bankrupt in June as a result.
“I’m still a commercial company and I’m not going to pay for them.”
After a restart this month, all old contracts expired and new ones were drawn up. “In collaboration with the interest group,” Van Veggel emphasizes. “A large number of the park’s residents have signed them, but there are also a lot of people who still refuse. I don’t understand why. It is a very competitive price, we have substantiated everything very well and done it in consultation.”
Van Veggel took measures on Monday against residents who have not signed a new contract. They are no longer allowed to enter the park. The sewers of a number of houses were also closed. “People stay at my park and use the amenities and facilities without paying. That is not possible. I am still a commercial company and I am not going to pay for them.”
“Closing off people’s sewers, how do you come up with something like that?”
The interest group is unpleasantly surprised by the measures. “I look at it with horror,” says Chairman Zwalve. “It is a form of coercion and exerting pressure in an unauthorized way. Closing people’s sewers, how do you come up with something like that? He is playing for his own judge and taking measures without following the procedures. Terrible for our residents.”
The interest group announced in a letter to its members on Monday that it was taking legal action. “Dear residents, stay calm, do not be provoked, do not do anything that you may later regret and: do not sign anything,” the board calls on members in the letter.
