There has been no conflict of interest or interim adjustment of the rules by the municipality at Zonnepark De Groenlanden. This is the conclusion of the municipality of Midden-Drenthe after a fuss arose about the plans for a large-scale solar park in Klatering, a hamlet near Beilen. The topic will be discussed in the city council tonight.
Last year, the municipality of Midden-Drenthe organized a ‘beauty competition’ for the best plan for a solar park in its municipality. De Groenlanden solar park in Klatering of 33 hectares came out best in the test according to the independent jury and won the tender. Much to the surprise of those around us.
Council members and residents had questions about the course of events. Residents told the neighborhood that Klatering was in a protected area and that a solar park was therefore not possible there. The hamlet is also located in a meadow bird area. These words were reinforced by a ‘potential map’ on which the Klatering area was indicated in red. The map later appeared to have been adjusted.
According to the municipality of Midden-Drenthe, it is true that Klatering was still marked red on that map in 2023. But according to the municipality, the map was still a concept, after which adjustments were made in several areas and at the request of the council.
“One of those adjustments is the omission of the red shading at Klatering,” the municipality writes in its explanation. “To provide more space for the implementation of our RES ambition, the municipality has chosen to distinguish between damaged stream valleys and intact stream valleys. The intact stream valleys have remained red and the other stream valleys have been given additional shading.”
In addition, according to the province, it is true that Klatering is located in a meadow bird area, but according to the municipality there are no rules attached to this. The municipality also believes that the fact that residents have not been informed is the responsibility of the initiator of the park.
Another point that residents are concerned about is the independent jury of the competition. The residents want to rule out the possibility of a conflict of interest. According to council members and residents, some members of the independent jury have close ties to the winning party.
The municipality says that there is no conflict of interest and that all committee members have been carefully selected by the council. According to the municipality, jury members of the committee are also not initiators of the plan.
Residents from Klatering have approached the municipality with questions. During that conversation, the municipality was unable to explain exactly what happened with the latest changes to the documents and the map. Residents accuse the municipality of providing the wrong information. But according to the municipality, this is not the case and after an audit it turned out that it has shared the correct information with residents.
Residents of Klatering are not yet reassured by these answers from the municipality. They point, among other things, to European legislation for the protection of meadow birds and find it strange that council members have received different information than they have.
How the council members view the course of events after the municipality’s explanation will become clear at the city council tonight. Earlier, opposition parties BBBondgenoot and Onhouden Midden-Drenthe told RTV Drenthe that the municipality ‘made mistakes’ and ‘should have prevented any hint of a conflict of interest’.