The occupiers promise to leave the chalets no later than Friday morning at 09:00. In return, Van Iterson sets up regular consultations with them about the construction of extra pitches for caravans in the municipality. New, temporary or otherwise, places for caravans must be realized within three years. The alderman promises that the municipality will make an ‘excessively great effort’.
Waiting list
The need for parking spaces is great. Alkmaar has 35, spread over three locations. 12 more will be added in ‘De Driehoek’, in the area between Vroonermeer-South and Vroonermeer-North. That has already been decided, but it is not enough. The waiting list is now about ninety names long. The fourth generation of caravan dwellers is currently emerging. And for about forty years there has been no additional parking space.
Both the State and the Institute for Human Rights have already called on Alkmaar to finally get down to work.
fiercely
And that is what Van Iterson promised the emotional occupiers he would do. In a heated meeting on the grounds of football club Flamingos ’64, where the twelve chalets for Ukrainians are located, the alderman said on Thursday that he will look for suitable locations together with the caravan dwellers.
He was immediately told that Alkmaar had never fulfilled the promises of its predecessors in the past forty years. “Your promises mean nothing!” But Van Iterson persisted. “I want to solve this, but I can’t just wipe away all the misery of all those years.” After a promise, the caravan dwellers usually heard nothing more. The new alderman also wants to get rid of that. He now meets with them every eight weeks.
Brown
The activists put forward former car dealer Jan Bruin from Sint Pancras in the meeting. It has 5000 square meters of land available. “These people can do that.” Bruin wants to sell the land to the municipality for a caravan camp. But he also agrees to a temporary quick solution for the occupiers.
They could then quickly leave the Flamingo’s site and temporarily live in caravans on his land. Van Iterson was happy with the offer, but could not promise that this illegal situation would be condoned.
clear
He revealed that the police, the judiciary and the mayor had actually wanted to evacuate the Flamingo’s premises in recent days. He could have kept that off for a while by talking to the occupiers first. The fear is that other groups of home seekers will also move into occupations.
,,That’s why I can’t say: we’ll tolerate it later, just sit back there with Mr. Bruin. It only takes one enforcement request from someone in the area and we have to intervene.”
Nevertheless, the alderman promised that he and his officials would consider Bruin’s offer after the holidays.