By means of: Joep Bbrakers
Wed Apr 3, 08:13
General
VLISSINGEN – The draft vision that the municipality has drawn up for the redevelopment of the Arsenal area has not gone down well with local residents. On behalf of 110 local residents, the Vlissingen Protected Cityscape Committee has submitted a statement of opinion to the municipality in which the plans for high-rise buildings in the area are outlined. And the committee has a strong trump card: earlier in 1989, the Council of State ruled in favor of the neighborhood and canceled the then planned high-rise buildings. “So there is case law,” explains committee chairman Tanja Snijders.
Various parties have plans for the Arsenal area. For example, project developer AVV Beheer wants to realize 60 hotel rooms in the old Arsenaal, where the pirate park and sea aquarium were previously located, and another 46 in the former Arsenaaltheater. Developer Lovago wants to build various buildings on the Arsenaalplein and 70 apartments for permanent residence and for building recreational use. “That affects the area too much,” is the opinion of Tanja Snijders. “It is a protected cityscape and the scale of the monuments here must be respected. The plan as it currently stands also attracts a lot of traffic, while the municipality wants to make the center car-free.” “Don’t misunderstand us,” adds secretary Bas Hoogesteger of the committee. “We also believe that something should be done with the Arsenal area, but major maintenance would go a long way.”
Disappointment
The Vlissingen Protected Cityscape Committee is disappointed in how the municipality is approaching the new building plans. “We were promised that there would be another meeting with all parties before the draft vision was finalized, but that did not happen,” says Snijders. “The municipality previously promised that there would be three scenarios in the design vision and that is not the case. It’s only one vision now and that’s Lovago’s. Based on our action at the time, the municipal council decided that there was a need for a thorough participation process. But people seem to have forgotten that now.”
High-rise buildings
The biggest objection that local residents have to the plans is the size and massiveness of the planned high-rise buildings on Arsenaalplein. “The design vision is not very clear about that,” sighs Snijders. “Somewhere in an appendix it is mentioned in passing that Lovago wants to build a building here that is as high as the Floating Dozen on Gravenstraat. This means that it would have to be a building of 33 meters high. In the plans, the entire Arsenaalplein will be fully built and, for example, the monumental Arsenaaltheater will be completely eliminated. And it doesn’t have to be so massive. There are also numerous possibilities within the contours of the current zoning plan.”
Next steps
The committee is now waiting to see what the municipality’s response will be. Snijders: “If the plans are continued, we will again consider legal action. And with the previous ruling of the Council of State, we actually think it is very simple.”
