In a letter, Minister for Housing Hugo de Jonge urges the province of Brabant to build homes. He asks the King’s Commissioner Ina Adema to forward the letter to the political parties that are now negotiating a coalition agreement. “For the speed and continuity of housing construction, it is important that the province actively manages sufficient construction locations.”
De Jonge’s letter comes at an important time. Now that the future of Brabant is being discussed at the negotiating table, De Jonge’s housing assignment should not be overlooked. He also mentions the housing deals that were concluded with Brabant earlier this year.
Brabant will have to expand considerably in the coming years. The deal is 130,000 more homes in 2030. Agreements have been made about what kind of houses should be built and also how many of those homes should be social rental homes.
Adverse circumstances
The housing deals have been closed, but things are not going smoothly yet, the minister sees. This is partly due to the sharp rise in construction costs and land prices. “Due to these circumstances, it is expected that there will be a temporary decline in residential construction production, especially in 2024. The current circumstances therefore require extra efforts from all parties to limit this decline as much as possible and to ensure that residential construction production picks up quickly,” says The Young.
An important part is the construction location. According to De Jonge, the province must play a very active role in this. In short, that space must be found quickly. Although it’s not that easy. In addition to a place to build a house, the accessibility of residential areas and work locations, climate resilience, water and soil and the energy supply must also be considered. These are all subjects that a new provincial government has to think about and is currently negotiating.
Nitrogen
The housing task is already tough, but the nitrogen crisis makes it all even more complicated. And especially where it can be built. No new nature permits are currently being issued in Brabant. This does not matter for many projects, because no permit is required for this. But that does not apply to plans in the vicinity of Natura2000 areas. Those projects will therefore be delayed. That is why it is especially important to look for locations that are not affected by this.
The national government also pays for all provinces itself. For example, more than 11 billion euros is available for the construction of homes. The most important financial schemes for this are the Mobility Fund (7.5 billion euros) and the Housing Construction Impulse (1.25 billion euros). In addition, De Jonge will soon be providing extra money so that projects that are ready to start can continue, despite the poorer economic conditions.