Unrest has arisen in Dieverbrug. The municipality has indicated that it considers a plot of approximately 23 hectares suitable for housing. Local residents are worried, because they fear for the small scale of the village and rural living.
From Maureen Ebbing’s garden you look out over the meadow. She has been enjoying the view for over forty years and enjoys living in Dieverbrug. That is precisely why she was shocked when she received a letter from the municipality two weeks ago. It stated that the municipality makes use of the Municipalities Preferential Rights Act. This means that the Westerveld municipality has the right of first purchase if the current land owners sell the plot. With this, the municipality wants to prevent the plot of land from falling into the hands of an external developer.
“But that came like a bolt from the blue,” says Ebbing. “It is estimated that up to five hundred homes will fit on the plot of land. We fear an enormous increase in traffic and light. Where deer, bats and hares live now, there may be houses in a few years. That prospect worries us.”
Due to the enormous demand for housing, the Westerveld municipality also has the task of building hundreds of homes over the next ten years. According to a recent survey, this is at least 510 for this municipality. “We have therefore made an analysis and looked at places where we can build a substantial number of homes,” explains alderman Klaas Smidt. “Our municipality relies heavily on tourist spots. You would prefer not to expand there. Dieverbrug is in a good location, centrally located with amenities nearby and a public transport connection.”
The alderman acknowledges that the message comes as a surprise to residents, but emphasizes that there was no other way. “If we had communicated about it earlier, you could give speculators or property developers ideas to buy the plot of land,” he says. “As a municipality, we want to keep more control over housing, so something like that is not desirable. Only now can we talk about it freely.”
Although concrete housing construction is far from being discussed, Ebbing fears it will be large-scale. “We are a hamlet with less than fifty houses,” she says. “If five hundred homes are added, the village will be out of context.”
“If we had added it to Dwingeloo, the impact would have been great,” alderman Smidt refutes. “With this location, the character of the municipality is least affected, but of course the character of Dieverbrug is. But again: it is the best location for building a large number of homes.”
The council still has to approve the implementation of the Municipalities Preferential Rights Act.