The decision is made. Steenberger camping Panda Rosa has been sold and the residents of the camping have to leave their current accommodation within eight days.
This is apparent from a letter that a number of residents have received. The current owners have sold the site to a third party. At the beginning of May there was talk of a sale to the municipality, but this did not happen. At the time, there was already talk about a third party that was interested in the Steenberger campsite. Alderman Robert Meijer (VVD) confirms the sale.
After June 30, residents are no longer allowed to stay at the campsite and the rented mobile homes must be left clean and empty. This can be read in the letter addressed to the residents, including Sanne Cordes. Residents who say that under ‘special circumstances’ they cannot leave immediately, can indicate this to the new owner. An extension is then only possible for a short period of time.
“We understand that terminating the lease at such short notice can be a difficult situation for you,” the letter reads. ‘The Noordenveld municipality has therefore indicated that it will mediate for some of the people staying at the campsite in finding suitable housing.’
Cordes is disbelief and very shocked when she received the letter. Alderman Meijer says that the Noordenveld municipality can do little for the residents of Panda Rosa at this stage. “The municipality can still lend a helping hand in the context of the Vital Holiday Parks program. Then help is given in the search for replacement accommodation. We have a particular duty of care in guiding people.”
The municipality of Noordenveld first discussed the purchase of the campsite with the owner. The intention was to ‘give the campsite back to nature’. This was not possible due to delays. “We wanted to put precision before speed, but in the end that means we’re not the new owner.”
In September last year, the residents of Camping Panda Rosa in Steenbergen received a letter informing them that they had to leave. They were given until the new year to look for a new place to stay, after which the campsite would be sold to the municipality of Noordenveld. The plan of the municipality was to turn Panda Rosa into a nature reserve, because the campsite is not viable. The quality of the park would be very bad.
‘There is still a worrying situation with neglected housing units where relatively many vulnerable people are housed who have to deal with different – and mutually reinforcing – social problems’, can be read in one of the documents of the Vital Holiday Parks programme. A program in which campsites and other recreational places are examined to see whether there is still a future in the park.
In the past, the campsite was known for nuisance from residents. People with criminal backgrounds lived there and there were problems with alcohol and drugs. According to the residents, this nuisance is no longer there. A manager brought about a change, the residents say.
Also, people are not allowed to live permanently on the campsite, but that happens. People live there who have nowhere else to go, the residents previously told RTV Drenthe, because of, among other things, too high rents for a home, too high house prices for starters and long queues for rented houses.