Today at 4:30 PM • Updated today at 4:42 PM
Anger and uncertainty persist in Moerdijk. The municipality wants to close the village for industry, but whether this will continue is still unclear. The national government and the province will probably make a decision this summer. Concrete answers about relocation and compensation schemes are not forthcoming, while homes are still being sold. Cees Nuijten (90), who has lived there all his life, wonders out loud: “What does the municipality want?”
There is a good chance that Cees Nuijten (90) will eventually also have to leave Moerdijk, even though he has lived there all his life. “You can’t imagine that, can you? Living here for ninety years and then you have to leave.” Tears well up in his eyes when he tells this. “My son has already moved, just like a grandson and granddaughter. That makes me sad. I live here so well, but everything is changing.”
He is angry about the sale of homes in Moerdijk. Many people put their house up for sale because of the impending disappearance of the village, but then new people come to live in the house. They too may lose their homes in a number of years when Moerdijk has to make way for industry. “Then destroy it! It’s all so unclear,” he says in the documentary series Meanwhile in Moerdijk on Brabant+. In the series, several residents of Moerdijk, including Cees, are followed for a year.
The intention is for both the province and the national government to make a decision on the future of Moerdijk in June. If it were up to the municipality, they should have actually done this in December last year, as agreed.
The choice seemed to have been made, but the ministry sowed doubt
Woo documents requested by Omroep Brabant show that the government concluded in March 2025 that the closure of the village of Moerdijk is the best option to make room for new energy infrastructure. That decision was made before the participation process with residents started.
Yet no decision was made in December. This was partly due to a change of course by the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning (VRO), led by then minister Mona Keijzer. While all ministries were previously unanimous, after the announcement to residents, VRO suddenly wondered whether the expansion could also ‘go around the village’.
The result: the province and national government postponed the decision. Residents have since been in uncertainty about moving, sales and compensation, while houses in the village are being sold.
Always lived in the same house
That lack of clarity also gnaws at Martin van Tilborgh. He has lived in the house where he was born all his life. “My parents used to live here, now I do. A lot has already been renovated.”
The steam regularly comes out of Martin’s ears. “I’m holding back because I have to be in front of the camera, but I’m furious with the municipality. Just be clear: either we all have to leave, or we can stay. I prefer the latter, but with the promise that we can stay here for at least thirty years.”
According to Martin, the buyout arrangements from the municipality are so bad that if he leaves now it will cost him a lot of money. “It will cost me at least 250,000 euros if I want to buy a comparable house somewhere else. I can’t afford that.”
Verbal commitments only
Martin Brusse has taken the step to buy a new house. Together with his wife he bought a house in Belgium. They sold their house in Moerdijk to the municipality. At least, that’s what they assume. “The municipality says it will be fine, but they only make promises verbally. Nothing is in writing.”
It causes a lot of uncertainty for Martin and his wife. This is mainly due to a down payment of 40,000 euros that they have already made for their new home and which they will lose if the purchase in Belgium cannot go ahead. “I’m quite stressed about that, I can tell you.”
Here you can read all the stories about the disappearance of the village of Moerdijk.
Watch the series
Meanwhile in Moerdijk is a monthly series on Brabant+. At the end of each month you can see what happened in Moerdijk that month. In the series, several residents are followed for a year. ‘Meanwhile in Moerdijk’ can be viewed for free and without an account.
