Henk Kosters can ‘deliberate’: ‘I no longer work seven days’

The center development of Roden. He has not had sleepless nights, but the tough file has certainly left its mark on Kosters’ two terms in the Noordenveld municipality. The alderman, who entered the council without any political experience, was able to start immediately. He encountered many challenges along the way and eventually came up against the Roner Business Circle. And then his sleep was jeopardized. “When they questioned my integrity, I slept badly,” Kosters admits.

Nevertheless, Kosters looks back positively on his period as alderman. In his period, about 500 homes were added in the municipality and more are planned. “A nice number, especially if you consider where you come from,” says Kosters. “But I also understand that people are saying that things are still not going fast enough. It can easily take five years to convert building plans into homes.”

The housing shortage is high and Kosters would have preferred to have gone further. “But you have to be realistic. With the procedures and investigations, it just takes a lot of time.”

Municipal projects take time. If it is not the procedures for the permits, then it is the sometimes sticky handling in the council. “I had to get used to that,” Kosters admits. “After one of the first meetings, I said that things could be improved in terms of efficiency. Then I was immediately told: ‘Dear alderman, that is not your business, you are a guest!’. That is of course true.”

Kosters also notes that he has great respect for the council. “Especially for the small groups, where a lot of work is being done. But I will not miss that consistency. Neither will the council chamber.”

In his own village Kosters sometimes had to explain that he was alderman for the entire municipality and not just for Peize. Nevertheless, the former chairman of the local football club has never received nasty remarks in the village. “It is true that sometimes the sentiment is alive in Peize – and also in Norg – that everything goes from the municipality to Roden,” says Kosters. “That may be partly correct, but those other villages will certainly be the focus in the coming period.”

In Norg, Kosters made himself popular by pushing ahead with the construction of the Oosterveld. After almost twenty years of haggling, the new housing estate finally arose. The late Jan Stroetinga often chased the Peizenaar. “You don’t want to know how many letters I have received from him,” says Kosters about the Norger. “And all handwritten, eh. But his efforts certainly contributed to the construction of the Oosterveld. That will not be forgotten.”

But the outgoing alderman also has comments. He sees, for example, that during the subsidence in Roden, there is still a group of residents for whom the problems have not yet been solved. “The problems have largely been solved for the Midfield district, but it has not yet worked out well for the subsidence outside it. I would have liked that to be different.”

The same applies to issuing permits. “For some reason, we have not been able to handle this faster. That has to do with rules, with ourselves and with the number of applications. In times of corona, permit applications have almost doubled.”

After 8 years, Kosters is ready to retire as alderman. He calls the last period ‘double’. “When you make a decision, you are already working on the period after that.”

If it had been up to IC, Kosters would have continued for another 4 years. “I didn’t want that,” he says resolutely. “There will be people who will be sorry, but there will also be people who will say, ‘I’m glad that guy is finally leaving’. It feels good to stop. I would be in my way if I didn’t.”

The parallel to the football field was quickly made by the former VV Peize president. “When I stopped playing football, people said, ‘Already?’ But I knew it was better to stop then than a few years later.”

In the coming period, Kosters will use to ‘demolish’. “I will certainly not stop working, but I will no longer work seven days a week,” he promises. Will he be committed to Peizer village life again? “That’s possible, but I’m not going to do that right away. Take it easy first.”

Watch the interview with Henk Kosters below: