News item | 10-10-2023 | 15:20
The Ministries of Infrastructure, Water Management and the Interior are helping municipalities with €1.5 billion to make new-build areas easily accessible. The ministries contribute financially to the construction of infrastructure such as roads, bridges, roundabouts and cycle routes. This can make new-build homes and existing homes easily accessible. Administrative agreements on these measures have already been made with more than 80 municipalities in 2022. As of today, these municipalities can submit the application that ensures that they receive the money for these mobility measures.
Minister Harbers, State Secretary Heijnen and Minister De Jonge are spending a total of €1.5 billion to ensure that 135,000 new-build homes are easily accessible and that surrounding existing homes remain easily accessible. This makes it possible for these municipalities to realize housing projects in the short term that previously did not get off the ground or would only be built later. Joint investments are being made in mobility measures that are adjacent to or outside the new neighborhoods and are desperately needed for the accessibility of new and existing homes in the area. This concerns, for example, a new roundabout, a cycle path, a bus station or a tunnel. This not only benefits the new residents, but also the existing residents of these cities and villages. The condition for the investments is that construction of the homes has started within 3 to 5 years and at least half of the homes fall into the affordable segment.
For example, a fast cycle route is being created in Maastricht between Trega/Zinkwit and Maastricht Station, two Mobility Hubs are being realized in Deventer at the current P+R of Deventer station and in the Rotokwartier and a new access road is being created in Terneuzen by extending the Avenue of Othene.
Minister Harbers: “Accessibility is a condition for pleasant living. New homes must be easily accessible by car, public transport and bicycle. We therefore invest in roundabouts, bridges, cycle routes and bus stations so that everyone can go to work, school, the sports club and family from their new or existing home. And the parcel deliverer and the plumber can also easily reach the neighborhood.”
State Secretary Heijnen: “With this scheme we help municipalities with very specific bottlenecks. This benefits the quality of life in villages and cities. When we build new houses, we naturally want them to be easily accessible and that children can, for example, safely cycle to school. An extra cycle path or a new roundabout can make a world of difference.”
Minister De Jonge: “With these investments we ensure that new construction projects become accessible. In this way, we enable municipalities throughout the Netherlands to realize large-scale housing construction locations in the short term. This is important because we must do everything we can to limit the dip in housing construction. This means quickly building what has already been permitted and quickly licensing what can be built quickly.”