The city council of Aa en Hunze welcomes the arrival of eleven new owner-occupied homes, a small apartment complex and a museum in the center of Eext.
During the council meeting in Gieten last night, all parties were positive about the building plans. Although there was criticism of the way in which local residents were involved in the plan.
The houses and the building with apartments will be located on Kampstraat and Stationsstraat, on a site where old business premises of construction companies Lanjouw and Vedder are still standing.
Those buildings will be demolished and make way for a courtyard with three semi-detached houses, four starter homes, a detached house and a complex of four apartments. The new houses are primarily intended for residents of the village.
The construction of an agricultural machinery museum and a new industrial building on Kampstraat are also part of the plan.
Despite the great need for new homes, there was criticism of the plans from the village. For example, local residents were concerned about the height of the apartment complex and subsidence due to a planned parking garage.
According to Alderman Ivo Berghuis (Municipal Interests), the plan has been adjusted based on those concerns. For example, the apartment building may be a maximum of four meters high and the parking garage will be scrapped.
Berghuis acknowledges, after comments from opposition parties GroenLinks, CDA and D66, that residents of Eext were not sufficiently involved in the plans in the beginning. He points out that later on they were listened to carefully.
“Ultimately, the initiators put a lot of energy into the support in the neighborhood, in order to come up with a good plan. They tried to accommodate everyone as much as possible.”
Before construction can start, the city council must still vote on the plan. That will probably happen at the next council meeting, on June 15.