The construction of new homes in Drenthe is increasingly delayed by rules surrounding so-called spray-free zones. Nationally, this concerns tens of thousands of homes in at least forty municipalities.
It is precisely at the edges of villages and towns in Drenthe that things are difficult. Municipalities often want to expand there with an ‘additional street’, but this is not always possible due to the buffer zones. Sometimes plans have to be adjusted and fewer homes will be built, or no construction will take place at all.
It is striking that the 50-meter rule is not stated in the law, but arises from previous court cases. Municipalities fill this in themselves and often apply the distance broadly, even on agricultural land where no pesticides are used in practice.
According to lawyers, this is not always logical. The NOS article describes that the rule is sometimes also used by farmers to prevent housing construction, for example to keep future options for use of their land open.
Municipalities and project developers therefore want clearer national rules. The Association of Dutch Municipalities advocates a fixed calculation method that distinguishes between types of agriculture. Researchers from Wageningen University & Research and the RIVM are currently working on new guidelines. The results are expected this summer.
