The court has canceled the plans for the construction of 163 homes in Egmond aan den Hoef. According to the judge, the permit should never have been granted to the project developer, because it did not comply with the nitrogen guidelines. The residents’ group that had lodged the objection is happy with the decision.
The construction of the houses, the Delversduin project, was planned next to a so-called Natura 2000 area: the protected Noordhollands Dune Reserve. Because it is adjacent to this area, the amount of nitrogen from the construction of the houses has to be compensated.
The province of Noord-Holland was of the opinion that this compensation could be made because the speed on the A9 was lowered to 100 kilometers per hour, so that less nitrogen is released by traffic.
Here the thinks court of North Holland otherwise about: “It cannot be guaranteed that the nature reserve will not be damaged by the construction next to it.” That is why the previously granted permit has been annulled.
Text continues:
The residents’ initiative group Delversduin had lodged an appeal against the permit for the housing project. One of the members of the initiative group Ruth van Rhijn is ‘very happy’ with the verdict: “It is an important decision from a legal point of view. †
The initiative group was set up because, according to them, the process surrounding the licensing did not go well†
According to her, the questions that the initiative group posed to the municipality and the project developer were also not answered. “The municipality and the developer have never really wanted to talk to us. Apart from the court ruling, I think that an early good, open and honest conversation with residents could have paid off.”
Transparent process
Van Rhijn thinks that the permit is now being destroyed for nitrogen reasons: “I think you should go through a good, solid and transparent process when building homes,” she says. “We should all work together to ensure that as much valuable landscape and nature as possible is preserved for new generations.”
Van Rhijn continues: “Building to meet housing needs is necessary. Use the scarce space and the limited nitrogen space in our country smartly so that what is really needed is built in places where it is possible.”
It is not yet known whether the province will appeal against the judge’s decision.