A renovation of the historic De Keet farm on Minister Cremerstraat in Zeijerveld is being hampered by resistance from a neighbor. He had wanted to renovate the building himself in the past, but would not have received permission from the municipality at the time. He is now asking the Council of State in The Hague to cancel the permit for the new owner of the building.
The De Keet farm was the first building on the wild Zeijerveld in 1908. The former Heidemaatschappij used the building to develop more than 600 hectares of land near Assen. In 2020, a new owner announced that he wanted to restore the farm to its former glory.
He received a permit from the municipality of Assen to return the building to a residential function. The renovation would also lead to an improvement in the cultural-historical value of the farm, the municipality believed.
However, a neighbor is obstructing the renovation. The objector blames the municipality for not receiving permission to renovate the building around the turn of the century, after which the farm continued to deteriorate. “I had to look at that mess for 25 years, while nothing happened,” the neighbor grumbled at the Council of State in The Hague on Monday.
The neighbor, a farmer, believes that there are several reasons for the administrative judges of the Council of State to stop the renovation of De Keet. He is afraid that if the new owner moves there with his family, he will not be able to expand his arable farm. The neighbor would then not be allowed to use an exit on his property with his agricultural machines, because he would cause noise nuisance to the residents of De Keet.
The municipality of Assen contested this at the meeting of the Council of State on Monday. The new owner of the building also stated that he and his family take any noise pollution for granted, but that did not reassure De Keet’s neighbor.
The new owner said he “regrets” the delay in his renovation plans. “A nice renovation farm, my girlfriend and I first thought.” But he has been waiting for the final green light for several years now.
The Council of State will make its decision in approximately six weeks.