In Kloosterveen in Assen, commotion has arisen about possibly stricter rules for a playing field, after the municipality had received some complaints about noise nuisance. Residents feel that they are being stared at. “We are not against that field at all.”
A ball bounces across the road. Immediately a boy flies after it. On Monday morning it is buzzing with activity on the playing field on Schoolstraat, which consists of a football field made of artificial grass and some playground equipment. Dozens of children from IKC Het Sterrenschip and CKC Het Krijt enjoy themselves in the pleasant spring sun.
Whoops, shouts, laughter. The children play as children play. Playing hide and seek, couple diving, football. Admittedly without goals and metal fence. They were removed last year to limit noise nuisance from hard shot balls against metal fences.
Square in disrepute
The square has been discredited. Assen wants a maximum of 44 children to play at the same time in the future. For example, the municipality wants to accommodate some local residents who complained about noise nuisance from playing children. Measurements showed that the noise load on some houses is indeed too high.
The two neighboring schools, IKC Het Sterrenschip and CKC Het Krijt, reacted angrily to the proposal and want the standard to be raised to 70 children. Otherwise, both directors fear that not every child will be able to get two breaks a day.
Also a local resident not amused . He called in legal assistance and aimed his arrows at the zoning plan. The destination ‘housing’ still rests on the playing field, which is therefore illegal on paper. The zoning plan needs to be amended and various studies have already been carried out for this purpose.
‘Cabin in the woods’
The idea that children playing would be curtailed by some complaining local residents sparked outrage on social media. “Very annoying,” says local resident Harriët Kleef. “The finger is pointing at the residents. Like: then you shouldn’t have lived there. As if we were bitches.” She lives with her husband Jacob a few meters from the playing field. They see and hear children playing every day. “But we are not against the playing field at all. We have grandchildren who want to play there too.”
They say they are not often bothered by the sound, although they sometimes like it a little less. “It is sometimes quite loud, but now you hardly hear it anymore. Habituation occurs. Moreover: if we did not tolerate nuisance, we would have had to live in a hut on the moor,” she says. However, like most local residents, they welcome the fact that measures are being taken to limit nuisance.
‘It’s quite predominant’
There is a working group in which local residents, the schools, the district coordinator and the municipality think about a solution. This includes Sander Roelfsema, who also lives near the playground with his girlfriend and two children. “It is great that there is a playing field. I have no problem with that at all. But the way it is being used now, I can’t agree with that. From ten to two, the playing field is in use non-stop. That is quite dominant.”
A few houses away, the same sound can be heard from Henk Meijering and Angelique van der Wou. “We live a little further away and think it sounds cozy, but we understand that if you live right next door, it will bother you. We certainly don’t have that.”
The parties will talk to each other in the near future. In addition to a student standard, another solution suggested by the municipality is to provide homes with silencers (ventilation grilles with increased sound insulation) and noise barriers; all interventions to reduce noise pollution.
“But”, concludes Harriët Kleef, “we don’t have to leave the playing field. In fact, it must stay.”