“They take everything. My house, my place, my life.” Gerard Weima’s voice vibrates when he pronounces the words. He is almost 80 years old, and has been living in his rental home on Loetestraat for 58 years. But now, together with many others in his neighborhood, he is forced to leave.
There are 54 homes in the neighborhood, 32 of these are demolished. For this, only 13 rental homes and 14 owner -occupied homes are returned. For many, such as Weima, this means that they have no certainty about a return. “We knew nothing until two weeks ago. This fell like a bomb. I don’t sleep, my thoughts turn on.”
The reason given to Weima? The houses would no longer meet ‘life expectancy’. But Weima doesn’t get it. “What does that mean? Should we all have a bedroom downstairs? My house is beautiful. The neighborhood is close, we know each other. In all those years we have never had a fight.”
According to WoonService, the decision is part of a broader plan to redesign the neighborhood, together with the municipality of Coevorden and Dorpsbelangen. “We work together on a more varied street scene with different housing types, such as life-course-proof and family homes. There will be a mix of owner-occupied and rental homes.”
Weima did not accept the decision. He collected signatures, 26 of the 32 affected residents are against the demolition. Dorpsmates who are not immediately touched support the action. That appears, because now Weima has already received 350 signatures. “People send me messages. They think it’s terrible. We already have so few homes, and now this.”
Communication with Woonservice and Weima is difficult. “They say nothing. They don’t know exactly what is coming back. But we will have to draw soon, without knowing if we can continue to live here.” Housing Service, however, states that tenants can make their housing requirements known in personal conversations. “After the final demolition notice, tenants will receive urgency on the housing offer on home compass. We do our utmost to find a pleasant new home for our tenants.”
For Weima it is not just a move. He has built his entire life in Schoonoord. In his barn, which he himself renovated, he stores 8000 gramophone records. “Every day I run three or four hours of pictures. That is part of my day. How can I leave that behind?”
The first demolition work will start in 2026, in 2027 it will be his house. “I don’t draw nothing before I know I can stay in the village. They don’t spoil my last years.”
The fact that 32 homes are being demolished, and the other 27 are being made more sustainable, is established for Woonservice. “In the future, other types of homes are needed and the demand for smaller, affordable homes will increase. In this plan we are working on a mix of different housing types, such as life -course -proof homes and larger and smaller family homes.”