The Council of State has rejected the plan to turn the historic Fort Kudelstaart in the municipality of Aalsmeer into a modern sailing fort with catering function and underground parking garage. The highest court finds that the municipality cannot sufficiently guarantee that the authentic heritage and character of the fort will be preserved.
Fort Kudelstaart is part of De Hollandse Waterlinies, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city council of Aalsmeer thought that sufficient account had been taken of this in the plans of operator Martijn de Liefde and two years ago adopted a zoning plan that makes the plans possible.
Local residents of the fort, who together form the Fort Kudelstaart working group, then approached the Council of State. He has already put that plan on hold and has now put a line through it. According to the Council of State, the underground car park would affect the authentic character of the fort. The Council does not agree with the objections of the working group regarding parking and traffic, financial feasibility, soil conditions and nitrogen emissions.
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NH News report on Fort Kudelstaart from November 2021 – NH News
‘Unique statement’
Chair of the working group Emile Abbing is pleased with the news. “This is a unique statement. It indicates a limit for what you can and may do to redevelop a fort. You can also go too far,” he told NH News.
He does think it is a pity that, according to him, the people living near the fort were not listened to earlier, so that the Council of State had to consider the matter. “This actually confirms what we have been saying for four years: ‘It is too big and burdensome for the fort.'” Abbing therefore hopes that the neighborhood will be allowed to join in this time. “We also want something to happen to the fort, but on an appropriate scale.”
“It is very sad that the fortress now remains for the rats and mice”
Manager De Liefde thinks it’s a sad thing, but certainly also sees positive aspects. “Many things in the plan have been found to be positive, so it actually says that it is a good plan,” he concludes. “It’s a pity that it is then rejected on one sentence.” Both De Liefde and the municipality of Aalsmeer will consider next steps in the coming months. “It is very sad that the fort now remains for the rats and mice,” said De Liefde.
Research UNESCO
UNESCO itself also investigated whether the plans would affect the historical value of the fort too much. Advisory body ICOMOS concluded at the end of August that it is good for the future of the fort if it continues to be used, but thinks that this project will have ‘a major negative impact on the Fort at Kudelstaart and therefore on the integrity and authenticity of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the World Heritage ‘Dutch Water Lines’.
According to De Liefde, the research is based on old drawings, which leads to an erroneous conclusion.