The VVD in Midden-Drenthe does not believe that the new council can realize 4000 homes before 2030. They show that skepticism tonight when discussing the new plans of the coalition. It consists of the BBB, PvdA, CDA and GroenLinks Municipal Interests.
“As has already been commented on social media: Complete fantasy and unrealistic is an understatement,” says party chairman Arjan van Gelderen. “To realize this, it is necessary to acquire a lot of territory and with this the rural character is also lost. Or are we going to build a tower block.”
Earlier this week, the coalition shared the ambition to realize approximately 4000 homes by 2030. The focus will be on Beilen. The option of high-rise is also mentioned.
Van Gelderen tries to use a comparison to express how many 4000 homes are for a municipality like Midden-Drenthe. “There are 2196 homes in Westerbork and 4935 in Beilen in 2021. These parties are therefore planning to build two more Westerbork homes. Ambitions are good, but would like to be substantiated and realistic.”
Tineke Posthoorn of the PvdA, the party that brought in the number of homes in the negotiations, acknowledges the high ambition. “But it’s a shame that the VVD thinks so,” she says. “Because we have thought it through carefully.”
“Building only for our own residents is not allowed and we do not want to. If we also want people with a ties to Central Drenthe to have their turn, we have to build for more target groups: for urgent seekers, young people, people from the region who want to settle here, status holders, special groups such as people who want to ‘Drentenieren’. Only then space will be created.”
Other opposition parties have also expressed their reservations on some issues. D66 questioned the state of affairs in the Börkerhout district. The ChristenUnie calls the accessibility of the villages poorly organized and is disappointed that the coalition has opted for austerity of the bicycle paths along the Oranjekanaal and Beilervaart. Party chairman Ageet van Dijken: “The coalition talks about connection all the time, but it is not clear how the literal connection to and from the villages is arranged.”
Municipal interests Smilde Beilen Westerbork, the party that came second in the elections and won five seats, is mainly surprised about which parties are in the council. According to Gineke Radix, the party would have liked to participate in the management, but according to them it was ‘not known well enough to be able to trust’. “It could have gone well and it would have been obvious with the number of votes obtained.”