Dairy farmer Jan van der Vliet from Grootschermer wants in the back of his yard build a windmill. Many local residents are there anything but happy with. dHowever, the application is already at an advanced stage and the city council will consider it tonight. Opponents will make themselves heard there.
De Schermer is world famous for its historic windmills. The polder mills – upper and lower mills – dried the Schermer in the 17th century. But modern windmills threaten the flat landscape, polder residents fear.
The illustration above is the specter of Sander Ottolander from Grootschermer, among others. He is one of the local residents who will object during the committee meeting this evening. The windmill desired by the dairy farmer would be placed about 800 meters from his house. “When I stand in my living room and look out the window, I see him.” He thinks the plan is worthless.
Polder full of windmills
“That’s why I’m definitely going to leave a comment tonight. First of all, I want to ask why our beautiful landscape is not protected.” According to Ottolander, one windmill is not necessarily the problem, but if one farmer is allowed to do it, then all farmers will soon be able to. His fear is that the historic polder landscape will soon be full of modern windmills.
The residents are not only concerned about the appearance of the Schermer. According to them, the process has not gone smoothly. “We were not informed in time at all”, says Alex Huges of the Grootschermer Village Council. “They may soon make a decision about the arrival of a windmill that residents knew nothing about.”
Ottolander is also going to say something about this to the councilors and the alderman. “I’m going to ask them why they don’t consult residents first about such an important decision for our living environment.”
‘Green Farming’
But not everyone is negative. There are also residents who strongly encourage ‘green farming’. And the climate is also one of the reasons why farmer Jan van der Vliet ordered the windmill.
The wind turbine will be approximately 20 meters high and will be placed on its own land. In the video below, the dairy farmer explains why he wants such a mill.