News item | 31-01-2023 | 09:14
Flexcity, circularity and innovation as guiding principles in area development – that’s what Flexcity is all about. A new concept, in which modular construction and digital design processes are central, should help accelerate area development. And offer a guarantee for the relocation of flex homes from other parts of the country. Minister De Jonge for Housing and Spatial Planning, together with alderman Van den Berge and alderman Messerschmidt (Apeldoorn) and alderman Lambregts (Doetinchem), signed a letter of intent for the exploration of a Flexcity in both cities.
Apeldoorn and Doetinchem are the first two municipalities with which the government will jointly investigate how we can shape this innovative area development, including organisationally. Together with both municipalities, with the support of the Temporary Housing Acceleration Task Force and the Housing Construction Expert Team of RVO, it is being investigated how the placement of 300 modular homes can be combined in the short term with keeping plots ready for construction for the relocation of 200 additional flex homes that fit within the already planned area developments
In order to cope with the shortage of housing in the Netherlands, work is being done on the realization of a flexible housing stock that can absorb sudden fluctuations in supply and demand. This is possible because the homes are of permanent and increasingly high quality, but because of their movability they can also be used at temporarily available locations. However, it is important to make room for this flexible stock in area developments, while also keeping quality and quality of life of paramount importance. The new generation of modular homes offers many possibilities for this.
In the urban development plan, the municipalities will take into account the placement of flex homes. With this they are designing certain neighborhoods in a hybrid way with regular homes and flexible homes, so that they can also serve as host municipalities for existing flexible homes from other parts of the country. The intention is that the hybrid neighborhoods can be easily adapted in terms of the number of homes, so that the realization can also take place more quickly.
In addition to Apeldoorn and Doetinchem, the government hopes to develop good examples in this way through several smaller development locations throughout the Netherlands. € 96 million has been made available for this. In addition to being a breeding ground for innovation, Flexcity is part of the physical relocation guarantee that the government makes available to corporations and investors.
Relocation guarantee
With Flexcity, the government is implementing the physical relocation guarantee within the Acceleration of Temporary Housing programme. The goal is to realize 37,500 affordable, sustainable and flexible homes by the end of 2024. Flex homes are generally installed for a period of 10 to 15 years. After that, the owner has to look for a new location and/or owner. Because the investment cannot be recouped during that period, the government wants to accommodate corporations.
The financial relocation guarantee ensures that corporations invest more easily in flex homes, while the physical relocation guarantee increases the chance that the flex home will get a second and possibly a third location. It must first be explored whether the house can be relocated in the region of the housing corporation. If that is not possible, and if it is not possible in another region or in the province, the central government will arrange for a market manager who will bring together the locations, wishes of municipalities and available flex homes nationwide. If no location has been found after this best efforts obligation, the physical relocation guarantee can be invoked under certain conditions. This investment risk is eliminated by guaranteeing that the home can be placed in one of the flexible neighbourhoods.
Enlarge image
