In this overheated housing market, you would expect any new construction plan to be welcomed with open arms. It is no different in the municipality of Emmen, only things are not going as fast as everyone wants or the plans are just a bit too ambitious. This became apparent during a committee meeting, in which alderman Jisse Otter responded to questions from various political groups.
One of the plans that was reviewed was that of project developer Jan Haitel at Nieuw-Weerdinge. He wants to have 189 homes built in the village, focusing on the Oude Bouw neighborhood and the demolition of the nearby old factories De Spanjaard and Gero. Haitel addressed the committee this evening, which raised a bombardment of questions among the groups.
Dirk van Dijken (CDA) asked whether discussions had already been held with the municipality. According to Haitel, he had a conversation with alderman Otter, which, according to the project developer, ‘didn’t go well’. Otter was concerned about the enormous amount of homes, he said. Trijntje Hummel (PvdA) was curious whether there was a need for so much housing in Nieuw-Weerdinge.
Haitel acknowledged that he hadn’t done any research, but he couldn’t imagine there wouldn’t be enough interest. He also stated that he has built zero-on-the-meter homes in the past.
Alderman Otter agreed that he has difficulty with the enormous amount of homes. Too many homes in too small a space, he judged. On the other hand, he sees benefit in restructuring the old factory sites, which are regarded as a rotten tooth in Nieuw-Weerdinge. “In February we wrote to Haitel that we think this is a desirable development. After that we heard nothing.” Otter is willing to resume talks with him, he said. “But 189 homes remains too many”, he concluded.
While the plans for Nieuw-Weeringe were too extensive, the new construction plans in Barger-Oosterveld are going too slowly. Developers are working on various initiatives at the Bloemenhandel Zwart, Café Halfweg and the Boogie Bar, but residents of Barger-Oosterveld have become irritated about the slow progress. “How can steps be taken to speed things up”, Henk Bos (Wakker Emmen) wanted to know.
Otter pointed out that a lot of time was lost due to the procedure applications at the municipality. What also does not help is that there has been a changing of the guard with the initiators for the locations of Zwart and Halfweg. “There is also sometimes some tension between what a developer and what a municipality wants.”
It remains a matter of maintaining the balance, according to the alderman. “We don’t sit with our hands over each other. We also want to go faster, but it doesn’t always work out.”