The collaboration between Bergen, Uitgeest, Castricum and Heiloo, the so-called BUCH municipalities, is causing more and more headaches. The four once set up the municipal cooperation to prevent a merger. Now the question is being asked out loud whether a merger would not be more convenient. This week, the Heiloo municipal council decided to conduct an ‘administrative power study’ into the BUCH.
There’s a rumble in the BUCH. This dissatisfaction is certainly not new; it was before a topic during the municipal elections of 2022. The organization would not work well, money would always be needed and time would be lost.
The first municipality to… turned doubts into serious next steps was Uitgeest. But in Heiloo they also see this movement in the other neighboring municipality: “Bergen is currently working on a proposal,” says Sybren van Dokkum of D66 Heiloo.
Fusion?
According to the party, Heiloo cannot be left behind and that is the opinion of a majority of the council. Van Dokkum’s proposal for a study into the administrative future of the village therefore found sufficient support to be implemented. “This investigation is a first step,” Van Dokkum told media partner Regional city Central.
What it will lead to is therefore still open. An alternative to the BUCH could be a real (administrative) merger. With all four municipalities or, for example, only with Castricum and/or Bergen. “But these are all matters that have not yet been completed. It now concerns an evaluation of the BUCH itself.” The investigation will take six months.
What is the BUCH?
The BUCH is the umbrella administrative organization that works for the four independent Bergen, Uitgeest, Castricum and Heiloo, and was established in 2017. In addition to a general director, the BUCH board includes a mayor and a councilor from each municipality.
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