The Assen Municipal Executive must actively hunt for land for collective housing projects. The municipal council wants to help groups of residents who want to live together, future-proof and more sustainably in the city.
An example of such a collective housing initiative is Woonstee Ass’n. They would like to live with a group of ten to fifteen people over the age of fifty somewhere in Assen in homes that are suitable for life. They have been searching in vain for suitable building land for years, and have asked the municipality for help several times.
Until now, the initiative group referred them to private landowners, mainly to do business with them in order to get their desired home off the ground. But a motion in the city council tonight, from D66, City Party PLOP, ChristenUnie, GroenLinks, CDA and Lijst de Rijke, ensures that they still receive help from city hall. Because the mayor and aldermen must now actively make strategic land purchases for these types of collective private commissioning (CPO) projects. The full council ultimately supported the proposal.
“There is a shortage on the housing market in Assen, but the municipality has few strategic land positions, which means that opportunities for active land allocation for collective housing projects are scarce. And initiators do not always have experience with project development, which makes it difficult for projects to get off the ground,” says D66- faction leader Adinda Bornkamp in the motion.
According to the council factions, collective projects often create special housing requirements that have added value for owner-occupiers, but also for the environment. It also often promotes flow in the housing market. In this way, family homes become available, because elderly people often want to live smaller and more affordable. However, there is currently no suitable offer.
The political parties also believe it is a role of the municipality to professionally support such a private housing collective in the role of client. By June next year at the latest, the Municipal Executive must come up with a plan for assistance to collective housing for residents, and under what conditions and rules this will take place.