De Delftlanden, the youngest residential area in Emmen, celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year. The district council does not want to let this go unnoticed and is working on an anniversary celebration in August. That is special, because never before has the existence of the district been festively marked. The story of a neighborhood that started in fits and starts and has undergone a remarkable growth spurt in recent years.
De Delftlanden emerged at the beginning of this century as an ambitious expansion district on the east side of Emmen, with space for around 3,500 homes. But development soon came to a halt. The credit crisis and the bankruptcy of project developer Megahome put a brake on the growth of the neighborhood. For years the neighborhood was limited to a few hundred houses. For a long time, the Delftlanden retained the label of ‘the district that will never be finished.’
For residents from the very beginning, that early period still feels like pioneering. Carin de Jonge, together with Mabel Stevens (both now district council members), were among the first residents who moved in 2006. Both crossed from the Rietlanden to the Delftlanden.
De Jonge: “It was completely empty here. No street lighting, no shops, no school. And not even a telephone or internet, because KPN had forgotten to install a cable. With two teenage children, that was a real tragedy.”
Stevens recognizes that image. “We literally lived in a meadow, with an unobstructed view to the front and back. That reminded me of my childhood on the farm. Our children played in empty houses and on building sites. That was still possible back then.”
It was precisely these circumstances that created a strong mutual bond. “We bought a ladder together,” laughs Stevens. “We still share that. And every year we have a ladder drink.” According to De Jonge, this characterizes the neighborhood in those early years: “You really had to rely on each other.”
Not everyone had confidence in a good outcome. Erik Benjamins, also a board member, moved to Delftlanden in 2019 and received plenty of comments about it. “People said: ‘Oh, isn’t that that construction site where nothing happens?’ But I saw it starting to pick up. You saw it in the house prices. If I had waited two weeks, a home would have been out of reach for me.”
The current district chairman Niels van de Venis also had to take a leap of faith. He grew up in Erica, later lived in Bargeres and was looking for a larger home around 2017 due to expanding the family. “When we came here to look, there were only a few houses in some places. But the view was great with water, meadows and, above all, space. So we went for it. And you have to have a little faith that everything will turn out well,” he winks.
That faith now seems to have been rewarded. From the middle of the last decade, cranes reappeared in the neighborhood. Delftlanden now has almost seven hundred homes. The municipality is considering the purchase of land on the southern edge of the district, good for another thousand homes. There is also room for a few hundred more houses within the current plan.
The long-cherished facilities are also coming closer. The construction of a new primary school has started, a bus connection seems to be in sight and the construction of a large neighborhood park should start next year. There has been talk of a supermarket for years.
“A supermarket and a community center are real spearheads,” says Van de Venis. “A place where you meet each other, where there is room for care, childcare or activities. That keeps a neighborhood alive.” The old school building is envisioned as a future community center. Sports facilities are still a step too far for the time being. “The next development phase must first be completed,” says Van de Venis.
But after twenty years, the current board believes it is time to celebrate the existence of the district on August 14 and 15. What exactly that will look like is still a topic of discussion. “Great plans were first considered, with a pub quiz and live music,” says Benjamins.
But we also made a call in the neighborhood: what is needed? We distributed seven hundred flyers and received about 65 responses. That was less than expected.” So the association is now reconsidering how they will commemorate the district’s anniversary.
And whether the party is big or small, one thing is certain for Carin de Jonge: “It is a pleasure to live here anyway.”