Are tenants camping Ursemmerhof bullied away to make room for a new chalet park?

“My children were made, born and raised here. And that is also what I hope for my own children,” says Marcel Vaas. The campsite is important to him, he has been there for 33 years.

Wim van Zijdenveld has also been walking around the Ursemmerhof for decades. “It is a real family campsite and it is in danger of disappearing. Campsites throughout the Netherlands are being bought up and converted into luxury holiday parks, leaving nothing left for the common man.”

On September 28, 2022, they, but also all other tenants of the campsite, received a notice of termination by registered letter from Beach Resorts, the company behind the development and operation of the new holiday resort.

Some had just signed a lease and invested in a mobile home. The blow was big. A lawsuit followed this spring in which tenants’ association DURF is against the owners. Result: holidaymakers are allowed to stay until September 2024 and they receive a discount of up to fifteen percent over this year and next year.

Be chased away

But this still does not reassure many. They feel that the new owners would rather see them disappear as quickly as possible, despite reports of nuisance. Sanitary facilities are removed, playgrounds are dismantled and old pitches are left dirty.

“There was also a shower and toilets here,” says Marcel as he walks around the park. “But this is closed and then remove this. The sanitary facilities at the beginning of the campsite were really used by people who do not have a shower in their caravan. But that has been demolished.”

Text continues below the photo.

The management of Beach Resorts regrets that the tenants feel that they are being bullied away. As far as they are concerned, the Ursemmerhof has been lost for a long time. “The park as a whole is no longer future-proof and, due to the way it is used, has in fact not really functioned as a recreation park for quite some time. There is crime (threats, arson, illegal possession of firearms, etc.) and a number of tenants are illegally permanently inhabited.”

Demolition of the sanitary building was necessary, according to them, because it no longer met the requirements. “The playground equipment was at the end of its lifespan,” the management said in a response. According to them, maintenance of the campsite will also take place in the same way as before. “However, with a view to the total renewal of the park, we are looking critically at replacement investments.”

SP wants clarification

The fact that there is friction between the tenants and the management of Beach Resorts has not gone unnoticed by the city council of Koggenland. But: “In principle, the city council does not deal with this issue”, René Kok, chairman of the GBK group, stated earlier in it NHD. The provincial party SP is also concerned that tenants are being made unable to recreate and is critical of the state of affairs. Member of Parliament Bouhlel even has questions about possible undermining and has therefore asked the Provincial Executive for clarification.

Text continues below the photo.

Meanwhile, a few weeks ago, the municipality of Koggenland and Beach Resorts sent out a press release about the metamorphosis of the recreation park. Alderman Van Dolder is enthusiastic. “Elements that we consider important as a municipality are reflected in the presented plan. For example, the design was designed with an eye for quality, environment, recreationists and residents of the municipality. It is attractive for holiday tourism and future-oriented.”

At the table

The tenants want to talk to the owners of the park, Beach Resort also says it is open to this in a response. Marcel already has a proposal. “Build there, sell it and then gradually move on again and then you have old and new together.” But Wim has little confidence that it will eventually work out. “There have been several developers who have tried it, but it just doesn’t work.”

Beach Resort says it will be working on final plans in the near future. “The starting point is also that the public character is preserved and that we also want to make it accessible to the environment and day-trippers.”