Will the village of Moerdijk disappear or not? The population will have to wait another six months in anticipation to see which way the penny will fall. Residents are angry about this. “There remains a lot of uncertainty,” says one of them.
The municipality of Moerdijk has already agreed to the proposal to wipe the village off the map in exchange for industry. The mayor and aldermen expressed the hope and expectation that the province and the national government would follow suit, but this does not yet appear to be the case. During a press conference on Monday, it was said that more will be known about this in the summer of 2026.
Tension and uncertainty
Will Moerdijk eventually leave or not? This brings tension and uncertainty for Martin Brusse. “We came to live here eight years ago from Zwijndrecht. We wanted to live in the countryside and this seemed like a suitable place,” he says.
His wish is that the village can continue to exist. But a definitive answer to this will have to wait a while. Residents hoped to get clarity about this now. “Then we can continue, of course,” says Martin.
He feels let down by the municipality and the city council. “We are going to the slaughterhouse, I have said before. I think the municipality has sold us,” he says firmly. Brusse can only say that he is ‘angry’ about the situation.
This also applies to Andrea Tolenaars, owner of a local shop. According to her, many villagers share that opinion. “There is and remains a lot of uncertainty. Where are we going and how are we going to do it all,” she says.
100 percent return of house value
Homeowners in Moerdijk now know that they can sell their house to the municipality for 100 percent of the value. Previously this was 95 percent. Yet this new arrangement, which was announced on Monday, does not ease Andrea’s pain. “I certainly don’t think that is enough. We will go into it straight away. We don’t have to get filthy rich from it. But they will have to pay for everything, including the emotions.” She already sees her local store going up in smoke and with it her job.
It is already on the minds of residents that the community will soon fall apart. “My entire history will be gone. I was born and raised here. I grew up here, my children grew up here. My wife has lived with me for 25 years,” says Dick Havelaar. “I think it’s a shame that they wipe out an entire community in one go. Then I think ‘Why here?’”
Is there another scenario possible?
After the consultation with the province and the national government, Moerdijk councilor Danny Dingemans indicated that he would have preferred to see a different outcome. His preference is still the option to make the village of Moerdijk disappear, he said.
In theory, another scenario can also be chosen, namely to expand southeast of the current port and industrial area.
Here you can read all the stories about the disappearance of the village of Moerdijk.