An arable farmer from Zuidwolde wants compensation for extra kilometers that have to be driven after the approach to the N48. The company owns land on both sides of the road and the crossing has been eliminated through redevelopment.
Arable farmer Katerberg Agriculture from Zuidwolde has been trying to get compensation for detour damage since May 2018. The case against the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management is currently being appealed to the Council of State.
From the 1960s, the company on the Ommerweg had a black-on-white agreement about a crossing at the Zuiderweg near the hamlet of Schottershuizen. That agreement, made at the time with the province of Drenthe during the construction of the road, was recorded at the Kadaster and also applies to company successors.
In 2014, the Katerberg crossing, among other things, was canceled because the N48 from the Hoogeveen junction to Ommen was being tackled. The speed limit is now 100 kilometers per hour and a thick green lane runs through the middle of the road.
Since then, Katerberg has had to cross the Linderweg viaduct with his tractor and other traffic. That is one and a half kilometers from the old crossing. The company claims to have tens of thousands of euros in detour damage every year. The farm has also become less valuable because the crossing has moved further away.
In May 2018, the farmer submitted a request for compensation for the damage using an application form. The claim was rejected by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. A damage committee had calculated that although detouring Katerberg costs money, the damage remained far below the threshold of 10 percent loss of income, according to the committee.
Katerberg’s legal adviser not only challenged the height of the threshold in court, but also the damage, which according to Katerberg is much higher. The court upheld the farmer’s appeal last year. The minister should not have simply ignored the easement recorded in the land register in 1962, the court found.
The ministry took a new decision last month, but Katerberg thinks the compensation offered is far too low. Both the ministry and the arable farmer appealed to the Council of State. A decision will be made in a few weeks.