The five planned mills near the N34 near Westenesch will be built. Although the entire opposition voted against the proposal, Wakker Emmen and PvdA (which, as coalition parties, together have a majority in the council) gave the green light. Despite many snags that the other factions see.
Don’t let the municipality of Emmen fall by the wayside again with archaeological mistakes. In this case, with the development of the N34 wind farm behind Westenesch, where, according to the CDA and Christian Union factions, more research into mineral resources is necessary. To be on the safe side, both parties therefore submitted an amendment this evening.
According to party leader René Wittendorp (CDA), there is a high archaeological value in the area designated for the wind farm. “At Oranjedorp the value was 4. At Westenesch it is largely 1. The second highest qualification for a location.” In the past two weeks it became known that the municipality had made a mistake with archaeological finds near Oranjedorp. CDA and CU therefore wanted to be on the safe side with more research.
The wind farm was already discussed two weeks ago during the municipal committee meeting. Within the municipality of Emmen, wind farms may still be developed in two locations: on the Zwartenbergerweg near Barger-Compascuum and on the N34. The council wants to put an end to the first and replace it with sun on the roof.
The N34 remains the only location to be developed. That proposal was before the council tonight. In addition, the company Pure Energie has set up a plan for five wind turbines. Local residents see this plan as a threat to, among other things, the protected villagescape of Westenesch.
The CDA, ChristenUnie and D66 also believe that the municipality was too simplistic in its choice of location. According to the three factions, too much emphasis was placed on nuisance, such as noise and cast shadows, during the assessment. Aspects such as landscape, archaeological values and the protected village character of Westenesch were not sufficiently taken into account.
Moreover, according to the CDA, the number of people affected per location is very close to each other. And therefore actually negligible.
The Christian Union gives great weight to the sound of the many protests that local residents in Westenesch and in that light a sound motivation for the council proposal. “This proposal falls short on those points,” said Roy Pruisscher. D66 and 50Plus suggested that the council proposal should be removed from the agenda altogether.
Party chairman Patrick de Jonge (VVD) previously asked councilor Rene van der Weide whether he would seek advice from the Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE) about the location. “I have not received a commitment, so I am asking again.” De Jonge expressed his concerns about the possible hindrance that could hinder a low Defense flight route.
Councilor Rene van der Weide explained at the previous meeting that limiting nuisance was ‘a priority’ when considering the two locations. An argument he repeated again.
In this case, the council follows the conclusion of the Environmental Effects Report, which states that the Zwartenbergerweg scores worse than the N34 on matters such as the number of people inconvenienced, noise and cast shadows. In other words: there would be fewer inconveniences if the latter location was chosen.
The councilor did not see more research as useful. This was already done extensively in 2016, as evidenced by the 1000 pages of information that this resulted in. “And they are still very usable. According to him, the care for archaeological research is sufficiently safeguarded. He also took the VVD’s suggestion about the RCE into account. Moreover, the low flight route has been taken into account in the plan, he noted. .
