Permanent residents of the Dierenbos recreation park in Vinkel have been told that they must leave the park within four years. They are surprised, because the municipality of Den Bosch recently sent them a letter stating that their living situation was tolerated.
There are 269 houses in the chalet park. A large number of the residents live there permanently and some only come for holidays. The land is owned by the Libema leisure company, the houses, often mobile homes, belong to the permanent residents themselves. If they have to leave, they normally have to take their shelter with them or demolish it.
Ron van der Wurff is chairman of the Dierenbos residents’ association. According to him, the mood at the park has been bad since the announcement on Wednesday. “It’s a roof over your head, one of your basic necessities besides bread and water. Where should people go in the current housing market? People are angry.”
“There were no more new people coming. Those signals showed something.”
According to Van der Wurff, 120 chalets are permanently occupied. He had suspected for some time that something was coming. He sat down with the park’s management several times. “We were not told, but people could no longer sell chalets. Then they had to leave the park. No new people came anymore. Those signals showed something.”
It is not the first time that black clouds hung over the permanent residents. In 2019, the municipality indicated that it was going to tackle permanent housing in the park, but this actually created a tolerance construction. People who already lived at Dierenbos before January 24, 2019 were allowed to stay.
Permanent living therefore remained illegal, but the residents still felt supported. But couldn’t the residents have known that this moment would come? “We thought we could withstand it for a few more years with this tolerance structure. Libema also supported it at the time.”
The residents do not yet know what exactly Libema plans to do with the park, but they also realize that it will be quite difficult for them. “We have a letter of tolerance, but that does not say everything. Libema is allowed to restructure. But then it must have a plan and all the necessary permits, as stated in the conditions. We have not seen anything about that yet.”
A Libema spokesperson says that the permanent residents have to leave because they only want to allow short recreational stays. “There is no plan yet, but it is now being worked out.”
“Now they still have to move, I don’t expect them to survive.”
Van der Wurff hopes to hear more soon and will also talk to residents. In the meantime, concerns are great. “Everyone now has to look for a new home. Families with young children, people aged eighty and older live here. They have lived here for thirty years and thought they could stay until their death. Now they still have to move, I don’t expect that they survive.”
The municipality of Den Bosch announced to the city council on Wednesday that it wants to assist residents in finding a new home. On December 7, Libema will hold a walk-in evening for residents.
Twelve places with chalets will be temporarily made available for people who, despite being guided to a new home, will have nowhere to go in four years’ time. This emergency provision will remain in place for a maximum of two years.
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Residents of the park were previously in an uproar because they had to move.
The municipality ultimately decided to tolerate a large number of residents.