The plan for the construction of eighteen homes on the site of a forest plot on the Zende in Erica is not well received by part of the neighborhood.
Councilors from the municipality of Emmen heard this during a committee meeting on Monday evening from Ralph Makkinje, who lives near the site in question. According to him, many local residents think it would be a shame if the 1.2 hectare forest plot is sacrificed for housing, while much larger numbers of houses can be built on agricultural land in the village.
He also has serious doubts about the process. According to him, the landowner or developer does not tolerate any opposition and people from the neighborhood feel intimidated by him. “He indicates that the plans have all already been approved and that submitting an objection is pointless because it has already been arranged with the highest officials within the municipality.”
‘Not straight forward’
According to Makkinje, the information evening held by the developer in April had many characteristics of a sales evening. A large number of the trees on the site have now been felled, according to Makkinje, without a permit having been applied for from the province. About thirty opponents of the plans have united in the Interest Association of Local Residents De Zende. Some of them traveled with Makkinje to the town hall on Monday evening.
The landowner/developer involved is Bernhard Kerkdijk, also a resident of De Zende. He says he does not recognize the criticism of his fellow villager at all. “I could never have said that everything is all set and done, because that is not actually true. The process is ongoing and several steps still need to be taken. Intimidating behavior? Mine? When? I can’t imagine that and I find it very sad that something like this is now being said about me.”
Privately owned
Arvid Lange, who has been hired by Kerkdijk to manage future sales, does not agree with the criticism either. “I don’t know why people would feel intimidated by the developer. And the April meeting was purely an information evening, because there is nothing to sell yet. People could express their interest there. But that is different from a sales evening.”
Councilor René van der Weide (Wakker Emmen) announced that there is room for discussion with the municipality about housing construction on the much-discussed plot in Erica. The site is privately owned and does not have protected status, according to the councilor. The councilor did not comment on what numbers of homes the municipality considers acceptable.