The coffee shops in Venray have to go. That is what residents of the so-called Forgotten Triangle of Venray say, where there are two shops.
The coffee shops cause parking nuisance and a feeling of insecurity. An investigation must map out what should be done with the coffee shops.
Parking nuisance
More than half of coffee shop visitors come by car. But there is no place to park. As a result, people are constantly driving through the streets or parking in surrounding neighbourhoods. Theo Swinkels, chairman of the Vergeten Driehoek sounding board group, says that visitors to the coffee shops go up and down. “They sit in their cars in surrounding neighborhoods. Then they throw cans of drinks on the street or urinate in public. And I’m not even talking about dealing on the street, because that is also a big problem. The underworld and the upper world touch here, because the dealing is not about soft drugs.”
district council
The Forgotten Triangle is an area in the center of Venray between Henseniusstraat, Langstraat and Paterslaan. The name refers to plans of the neighborhood council in 2009, in which the input of this area would have been forgotten.
Many visitors
Coffee shops Switch and Halicarnas are located a short distance from each other on Henseniusstraat, which originated in 1998. At that time, the area was hardly a residential area. There are currently no other coffee shops in a radius of 25 kilometers around Venray. As a result, the Venray shops attract many visitors. This is also apparent from research, which states that there are 550,000 transport movements around the coffee shops per year.
Also read: Coffeeshop Venray had too much weed in the house
Driving in circles
Joeri Ooijevaar lives on Henseniusstraat opposite a supermarket. His parking lot is constantly used by coffee shop visitors. “The triangle is perfect for driving in circles. They drop someone off who gets the weed. The driver now drives one or more laps through the neighborhood. As a result, they pass by extra often. My windows are almost black due to the emissions.”
Unsafe
The situation leads to a feeling of insecurity among residents, according to a survey carried out on behalf of the municipality of Venray. Residents of the Forgotten Triangle and the surrounding neighborhoods were given the opportunity to complete a questionnaire. Only 38 percent of the inhabitants of the Forgotten Triangle feel safe. While in the center it is 54 percent. The average of Dutch cities and villages is 76 percent. “I personally don’t feel unsafe. But if you ask me whether this is a safe neighborhood, the answer is no,” says Swinkels. That’s what Stork says too. “But my wife prefers not to walk past it. The people who come here often display antisocial behavior. I can well imagine that this creates a feeling of insecurity.”
Children find drug waste
Wouter Born also lives in the area. “My children find drug waste in the playground. I see that people are threatened by all kinds of shady figures and young people are smoking weed here. That may also happen in other places, but should you facilitate that in the center of Venray? not.”
‘Nothing against coffee shop owners’
The solution for Born is simple: “Move the coffee shops away from the center. I’m thinking of a situation like McDonald’s, which is also located here on the edge of the village.” De Venraynaar emphasizes that he has nothing against the coffee shop owners. “We have to solve the problem together with the municipality, the owners and the local residents.” That also applies to Ooijevaar. “It’s simple. Get away or move out of the neighborhood. The neighborhood is deteriorating in this way, especially with the presence of two shawarma shops and a casino.”
Research
The unrest in the Forgotten Triangle has also penetrated municipal politics. Swinkels: “In 2019, the college was going to take it seriously, but that has not happened. Alderman Cor Vervoort has also apologized for that.” The case is now underway. The city council will probably give its approval to an investigation during the council meeting on 15 February. This should provide clarity about the various options for limiting the nuisance. Closing the coffee shops is one of those options. The study should be completed by the end of 2022.
‘Afraid to tackle elephant’
Bas Künen, councilor of the VVD in Venray, would like to see the coffee shops disappear from Venray. “Municipal policy even states that a coffee shop may not be located in a residential area and certainly not cause any nuisance. Both are therefore the case.” The VVD wants the investigation not to be about whether the coffee shops will be moved, but how and when. Künen further states that the municipal authorities should have acted more quickly in recent years. “We already proposed an investigation in 2019. Now, 32 months, it will be done. It seems that the college is afraid to tackle the elephant in the room.”
‘Blood Cloth’
In the meantime, other measures may be taken, such as camera surveillance, lighting and closing the roads at certain times. “A plaster on the wounds”, Künen calls it. “And in fact, in this way we facilitate the coffee shops. The neighborhood does not benefit from that at all.” Local resident Wouter Born agrees. “I call it a cloth for the bleeding. The municipality has not yet taken concrete steps to tackle this. I mainly want to know: what is the benefit of the municipality? Are you going to tackle this? Yes or no? time for them to take a leading role in this.”
Coffeeshops Switch and Halicarnas declined to respond to questions from L1.