“We didn’t hope for it, but we expected it,” Saskia Budel summarizes. She spoke on behalf of 126 local residents the past four years strongly against the, in their view, overly massive St. Carolus. They are not against a new residential care complex, but these construction plans would have too great an impact on their neighborhood. For example, the two buildings are too large and too close to the backyards. They also believe that the municipality has stretched the rules too far to allow construction.
At the end of November, Budel spoke with two supporters at the Council of Statein a last attempt to stop the construction that had already started. But Wednesday came still green light, allowing permit holder Woonzorg Nederland to continue building.
‘Hoping for a miracle’
“During the hearing we noticed that the judge understood us personally, but it also became clear that we had no legal basis,” says Budel. “You are sitting opposite a battery of lawyers and attorneys from Woonzorg, that was the case every time. They hold such hearings much more often, they are so well versed in the subject matter and have dealt with this axe many more times. You are then simply no match for Still, you hope for a miracle, otherwise you wouldn’t go to the Council of State in The Hague.”
The highest administrative court determined that stretching the rules involves ‘limited deviations’ from the rules. “These may be small deviations, but they have enormous consequences for our neighborhood.”
The ruling marks four years of political and legal battle against the new st. Carolus at the end. “For us this is the end, the book is closed,” Budel summarizes. “We can at least say that we did everything we could. That was super important to us.”
Spring 2026
“We are pleased with the clarity provided by the ruling. We are even happier for the future residents of St. Carolus, because the uncertainty has been removed for them,” the spokesperson for Woonzorg Nederland said.
According to her, the construction plans have been delayed due to the legal battle. “In the interests of future residents, we have limited this delay where possible by starting demolition and construction during the dispute procedure.” In the spring of 2026, the first residents will move into the new st. Carolus came to live.