“It is a step in the right direction, but we are certainly not happy yet,” that is the response of Yannick Hooghiemstra of student union SRVU to a motion that was adopted yesterday with broad support in the House of Representatives. In it, D66 calls for an agreement to be reached before the end of this year for the construction of as many student homes as possible in Kronenburg, Amstelveen.
Because large-scale housing construction in noise-affected areas close to Schiphol is only possible with the permission of the minister, the Council of State previously rejected the plan of the municipality of Amstelveen to build 2,500 student homes.
Outgoing Housing Minister Hugo de Jonge opened the door again. Together with colleague Mark Harbers from Infrastructure and Water Management, he wants to give permission for the construction of 438 homes, which must be well insulated against aircraft noise. If the noise pollution for the new residents is not too bad, more homes may be built.
“It seems that it may take years before there are real student housing”
D66 believes that many more homes can be built in the first instance, but does not enforce this with the motion. The students therefore believe that not enough progress is being made in the matter. “It seems that it may take years before there are real student homes, but we believe they should come now,” Hooghiemstra said this morning on NH Radio.
Amstelveen councilor for Spatial Planning Floor Gordon also wants to finally speed up the project. Text continues below post.
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The student cannot wrap his head around the fact that politics is interfering, while a gigantic student campus has been located a hundred meters from the vacant lot where the new campus is to be built: Uilenstede for years. “3,400 students have been living there for years. They are hardly bothered by noise, except from the parties.”
Hooghiemstra believes that politicians take too much into account the interests of Schiphol Airport. “They are afraid that residents will eventually sue them, but students just want to live. The enormous housing shortage for students will only get worse in the coming years. We therefore say: students above Schiphol.”
Sleeping on the couch
The stories that fellow students come to her with are poignant: “They have to sleep on the couch with other students or stay in a hostel for months. There they share a room with six others.” A group of students have now occupied the plot of land and built makeshift homes there themselves. Hooghiemstra has pinned her hopes on the future government.