The PvdA in Hoogeveen wants to know what went wrong during the granting of permits for a residential complex on the site of the Agrifirm grain factory. There are plans to house migrant workers there. The municipality issued a permit for the construction of the homes, but it was withdrawn last week.
Hoogeveen would not have taken the correct route to issue the permit. After local residents objected to the plans, lawyers scrutinized the process. An ‘extensive procedure’ turned out to be necessary, but the municipality did not use that method. The permit was withdrawn in consultation with developer SVZ-advies.
“We want to know how this could have happened, but also how this can be prevented in the future,” PvdA faction leader Stan van Eck wrote to the municipal council.
Due to the objections of the neighborhood, the project and the permit were re-examined. “What if the local residents had not protested, would the complex have simply been built on the wrong grounds?” Van Eck wonders. The PvdA wants to know who took the initiative to revoke the permit.
Hoogeveen previously announced that SVZ-advies can submit another application for the plans. The developer wants to build 162 apartments with space for 420 migrant workers. The municipality expects a new application for the plans this month. “We question this haste,” Van Eck continues. “Haste work increases the chance of new errors. Why does it have to be submitted before January 1?”
According to the group leader, the municipal council was only informed about the withdrawal of the permit after reports had already been written about it in the media. He wonders why the council had to hear about it from the press. “Given the unrest that already exists surrounding this project, we expect the council to recognize the urgency of our questions and to respond quickly.”