There will be more opportunities in the historic city center of Enkhuizen to install solar panels on roofs, in order to accelerate the sustainability of homes. A large council majority enforced this on Tuesday evening with a motion that is embraced by alderman Jan Franx. “I’m taking up the gauntlet.”
It was a visible political struggle in the city council of Enkhuizen on Tuesday evening. Was the protected townscape preserved or will the process of sustainability be made possible?
It is a question that has been around for a long time. Due to the high energy prices, more and more residents are trying to make their homes more sustainable. This includes owners of monumental buildings, but they often encounter resistance from the municipality, which sets strict requirements.
The municipality issues about 30 permits every year. “In addition to denied permits, there are also requests for information in principle and information for solar panels in the city center,” said a spokesperson earlier against NH News.
Make haste
There are many permit applications from residents to install solar panels. Making homes more sustainable can and must be done faster, according to local factions Enkhuizen Vooruit (EV) and the CDA. According to them, allowing solar panels in the historic city center is taking too long. “It is part of this time. Let’s embrace it and tackle the energy transition,” said Gerhard van Galen (CDA). To offer these residents a helping hand, alderman Jan Franx wants to speed up the expansion of the policy rules.
Text continues.
In the so-called council proposal, which the city council has recently considered, the possibilities are already being expanded somewhat, but according to the CDA, Enkhuizen Vooruit! (EV), D66 and SP not far enough yet. That is why they want to go a step further than what the council has with a submitted motion proposed two weeks ago.
Because although the municipality wants to expand its policy rules, there are still a number of restrictions. For example, solar panels may only cover half of the roof and it must be 3 meters from the facade. The local groups want to release these restrictions. “The installation of solar panels in the green area must also become permit-free in order to save official time,” says Frank van Gangelen (EV).
Alternatives
Alderman Jan Franx is not unwilling to this. “I don’t think that’s a problem in itself, because it’s an important subject. Those applications have to be investigated first and that takes a lot of time. And we have to ask the aesthetics committee for advice.” According to him, there are more ‘monumental’ municipalities in North Holland that are expanding the policy rules. “We learn from each other.”
Franx also points to alternatives, in case residents of historic buildings are not eligible for solar panels. “Think of sustainable energy from windows and roof tiles or insulating glass,” he says. “It has to be figured out by the municipality, how we can deal with this.”
To work
A large majority of the council voted in favor of the proposal and the motion. Not everyone is equally enthusiastic. For example, the PvdA guards against the “historical view” of the city center. “If things go wrong with the climate, we will have no heritage at all in 100 years,” mayor Eduard van Zuijlen responds.
The city council wants clarity in June, but alderman Jan Franx does not want to give it time. “As soon as possible,” he promises, who also does not exclude additional costs. “Residents can already get started with the new policy.”