Jos fought for 7 years for the construction of a sunbathing lawn in his apple orchard: “It’s almost time”

Behind the apple orchard of grower Jos Fischer (73) – where he and his wife Gruda grow about 1,500 fruit trees – and the Action’s distribution center in Zwaagdijk-Oost, there is now an empty meadow. But that will now change. Thanks to his citizen idea, a small sunbathing area of ​​5.5 hectares will be built on the same spot. Completely out of sight of local residents.

He wants to do something for the climate and the village. “We still have about 2.5 hectares left,” says Jos. “It must function as a green ‘buffer’, so that the sunbathing area cannot be seen from the Dorpsweg. Sheep can also graze under the panels.”

He retired a few years ago. “In my old age I came up with the idea so that I can enjoy my retirement.” He also wants to keep the piece of land in the family, if it can be restored to its original state after 25 years – the lifespan of a sunbathing area. “In case one of my grandchildren wants to start a farm around that time.”

Green light

Nevertheless, the citizen idea requires a long breath. It’s not something that just happens, he knows better than anyone. He has been working on this for seven years now. Despite previous investments, the arrival of a sunbathing area is not getting off the ground.

“Fortunately everything is now complete, we finally got the green light.” Still, the flag can’t go out yet. They run into a new obstacle: grid operator Liander still has to lay a power cable to the distribution station in Westwoud. “Given the situation, it will take another year before there is a power cable.”

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Although things went smoothly there, things did not go without a hitch in Zwaagdijk-Oost. In 2021, the municipality of Medemblik granted an environmental permit to the Amsterdam solar company Chint Solar, which has already developed a sunbathing area in 2018 in Andijk. Under one condition: local residents can participate in the electricity yield. And so the Solar Cooperative West Friesland was brought in, which as a citizens’ initiative often helps to set up similar projects.

Locally owned

The Village Council ultimately felt that the interests of the village had not been sufficiently taken into account in the proposal and lodged an objection. “It did not go as initially agreed. At least 25 percent of the sunbathing area would end up in the hands of local residents,” says Piet Aker, secretary of the Village Council. He calls the plan “visually acceptable.” “The only view is from Westfrisiaweg, but there is no slow traffic there.”

tons of compensation

According to the municipality of Medemblik, the required citizen participation has stranded because the relationship between Chint Solar and Solar Cooperative West Friesland deteriorated after the summer of 2021. “The municipality was given the role of intermediary. We held out hope for a good outcome, but unfortunately both parties turned out to be incompatible after a long time. That is why a different approach was chosen.”

The municipality then entered into talks with the Village Council and Chint Solar. After hours of talks, the municipality finally reached a compromise: the village will receive a ton from Chint Solar for ‘sustainable’ projects that contribute to the quality of life in the village. “An appeal costs a lot of money. We have to be assisted by professionals and we don’t know exactly how strong we are,” says Piet Aker. The amount will only become available when the sunbathing area is built.

Construction of solar lawn can start

The Sun Cooperative West Friesland is disappointed that it has stranded. “The disappointment and frustration is great. Especially if you look at the developments in Zwaagdijk-West, it is an identical plan. We have been working on it for two years, together with the football clubs and the Village Council,” says chairman Rein van Straten.

Now that the objection of the Village Council has been withdrawn, the way is open again for the arrival of a sunbathing area. It is still unclear when construction will begin.