The municipality of Hoogeveen wants to enforce the illegal use of pieces of land belonging to the municipality from next year. After the summer, the municipality will come up with a plan of action to summon residents per district or neighborhood to vacate the confiscated pieces of land.
Hoogeveen has recently investigated which pieces of ‘chip green’ are in improper use. This concerns, for example, patches of land adjacent to gardens that are used by residents as an extension of the garden.
In some cases it is possible to buy or rent that land from the municipality. “The municipality of Hoogeveen does want to meet the wishes of residents to dispose of public greenery. Unfortunately, this is not possible in all cases. We consider maintaining the quality of the pleasant living environment and the enjoyment of living more important than the individual wish to expand the garden.”
For a long time, Hoogeveen had no policy for the use of shredded greenery, which meant that enforcement did not take place and arbitrary use of greenery was lurking. There were rules for it at the end of 2021. And now Hoogeveen wants to press ahead: what belongs to the municipality may no longer be occupied by private individuals. According to the municipality, illegal use sometimes leads to annoyance among other local residents. It is also possible that commissioning will lead to problems with the maintenance of public green areas, the construction of a sidewalk or the widening of a road.
The municipality wants to write to the residents per neighborhood or district to deliver the municipal land in its original state. Whether a few plants have been there for a few months or if there has been a shed for 10 years, it makes no difference to the municipality. “However, the starting point for enforcement is that we will enforce everything and make no distinction between size, duration and/or character of irregular use,” says Hoogeveen. If the user does not clear the ground, this can eventually lead to legal action.
After the first neighborhood or district, it is evaluated whether the approach works. The city council must approve the plan in October. Enforcement should start at the beginning of 2024.