It is a thorn in the side of outgoing minister Hugo de Jonge: local residents who want to stop the construction of new homes. But how many homes are delayed due to objections, and what is behind it? Domestic Administration and the Nederlands Dagblad looked into it.
Frustrations
You don’t have to look for officials with frustrations about housing construction with a lantern. “People often say ‘we were not heard’, but read: we did not get our way,” writes an angry Brabant official about residents who try to thwart construction plans. Politics must also pay the price. ‘The council lacks decisiveness. We get bogged down in ideas and plans, but we can’t live there!’, writes a colleague from Zeeland.
These sentiments are widely shared. Research by the Nederlands Dagblad and Domestic Government among municipalities shows that the construction of one in three new-build homes is delayed because an objection is filed. Virtually no municipality escapes when it comes to objection procedures. More than four in five municipalities indicate that their housing projects will be affected. Sometimes this only concerns a small part of a construction project, but there are projects involving thousands of homes that are at a standstill because of it.
‘Objecting new construction is becoming popular sport number one’
Minister De Jonge
Minister De Jonge (Public Housing) is not surprised by the outcome. “Objecting new construction is becoming popular sport number one,” he says in response to the research. The voice of home seekers is not heard enough, while that of the ‘angry neighbor’ sounds loud and clear everywhere, he argues. ‘The right to a view thus becomes more important than the right to housing. In this day and age we can no longer afford that.’
Tree felling
Although it happens that nature conservation organizations file objections to prevent tree felling, for example, only a quarter of municipalities have to deal with procedures from that angle. On the other hand, almost every municipality in the survey indicates that local residents are among the objectors. In three quarters of the municipalities, ‘damage to the view’ is cited as the reason. Expected traffic nuisance, fear of privacy and fear of a shortage of parking spaces are also important grounds for objection.
In most municipalities this causes delays of one to two years, because the objection is fought all the way to the Council of State. Many municipalities try – with varying degrees of success – to prevent objection procedures by entering into discussions with local residents. De Jonge therefore wants to limit the options for going to court. According to him, local residents sometimes litigate strategically to delay a project – in the hope that postponement will lead to cancellation. ‘That is why we want to get rid of the option to appeal. There will still be plenty of opportunities to get your rights.’
According to De Jonge, angry neighbors ask for ‘a straight back from municipal councils’
Counteract
De Jonge believes that municipal councils should push back against objectors: ‘It is true that municipalities sometimes listen very carefully to angry neighbors. They also make a lot of noise, while you cannot hear the people who are in the pinch. That requires a straight back from municipal councils.’ The minister sees a ‘turnaround’ in various municipalities in this area. ‘They are increasingly consciously looking for opportunities to hear the voice of the home seeker.’
Not all municipalities express frustration about the objections submitted by residents. There is also understanding. “It is important that municipalities open themselves up to residents and do not dismiss participation as a joke,” says an employee of a South Holland municipality. An official from the middle of the country agrees with her. ‘The municipality does not take objections seriously enough.’
According to the minister, changing the rules is not the only solution. He believes that local residents should also take their responsibility: ‘We live with a lot of people on a very small piece of earth. That means we just have to make a little space for each other.’
