The area-oriented and coherent approach to the Rural Area should be put on hold, says the Boer Burger Movement (BBB). The province must not submit Drenthe area plans for the National Program Rural Area (NPLG) to the state on 1 July.
The BBB will submit a motion for this in the Provincial Council (PS) on 12 April. The party wants July 1 not to be a deadline, but to be a new start for making other plans for tackling the nitrogen problem and creating new nature.
“There is not yet a new board and no new coalition agreement. There will soon be another GS (Provincial Executive, ed.) And another PS. With a different program. Then the current board would reign over its grave” says BBB party chairman Gert-Jan Schuinder. “We are coming up with a process proposal for making new plans. But it is of course no secret that forced buy-out of farmers cannot be part of that.” The BBB foreman wants all talks about winning buyouts – if there are any at the moment – to be stopped.
In any case, Schuinder believes that the province should first have a complete overview of all information about the current permits and the still available ‘latent’ nitrogen space. The current board of GS has already indicated on March 6 that it will investigate this on the basis of both the provincial and municipal environmental permits. “That research will probably not be ready until the end of 2023, and I don’t expect to make new plans before then,” says Schuinder.
And what is also inextricably necessary for BBB to make new area plans: a national agricultural agreement that the cabinet must conclude with the agricultural sector. Farmers’ interest organization LTO has already indicated that it will not sign an agricultural agreement if the cabinet does not change drastically. LTO also does not want any compulsory purchase or expropriation of farmers, no measures imposed from above such as ‘landscape land’ and, according to the LTO, the nitrogen deadline of 2030 should also draw a line.
As far as Schuinder is concerned, the Nature Goals Analysis can continue as usual. “However you look at the problem, we all need that information to be able to make a good area-oriented and landscape approach.”
Incidentally, that Nature Objectives Analysis should have been there a long time ago. Namely on April 1. That is the analysis per nitrogen-sensitive Natura 2000 area. Drenthe has 14 of these nature reserves, 12 of which are sensitive to nitrogen. According to a spokesman for the province, April 1 was not a hard deadline and everything needs more time because of the care. But there would be no delay. The spokesperson expects that the Nature Goals Analysis will be handled by GS this month and will be made public.
In Friesland, the Nature Objectives Analysis has been postponed. According to political reporter Onno Falkena of Omrop Fryslan, a postponement has been decided, partly after consultation with the neighboring provinces of Drenthe and Groningen. Drenthe will make the nature target analyzes for Friesland of the cross-border nature areas Drents Friese Wold and Fochteloërveen, as agreed.