While the municipality of Emmen is still puzzling over possible housing locations in the municipality, the village of Schoonebeek itself is taking the lead. A strong proposal is put on the table through the village council: Schoonebeek can accommodate 170 new homes in the coming years.
The majority of those 170 homes can be located on the so-called Gasthuislanden on the south side of the village. The area has been somewhat lost for years: a few sports fields, an ice rink and the cycle cross track. The proposal is to move those sports functions to De Kampen sports park. This will create space for a completely new residential area with 45 homes in the first phase and more than 150 homes in total.
According to Dorpsbelangen, this is the place where Schoonebeek can finally grow without tearing the village apart. “It is within the existing edge of the village, you are right in the center and it provides a nice mix of starter homes, family and senior homes.”
In addition, there is a proposal to bring the two primary schools together in a new Community School on the Pienhoek. That site was originally intended for housing, but the municipality canceled that plan last year.
The village prefers to see it the other way around: place the new school on the Pienhoek, and use the vacant locations on Spanjaardspad and Europaweg for new homes within the existing streets.
The plans are not just an idea at the kitchen table. Extensive discussions were held with councilors Raymond Wanders and Albert Jan Jakobs. The village council would like to work together to further develop these plans.
The same trends are at play in Schoonebeek as in other villages within the municipality. An increased demand for housing, with young and elderly people in particular wanting to continue living in their own village, but have nowhere to go. “Then the village simply has a problem,” says the working group. “And you have to solve problems, not park them.”