A number of Feerwerd residents do not feel taken seriously by the municipality of Westerkwartier.
They have been fighting for some time against the plans of entrepreneur Michel Pettinga, who runs a company for mini cranes, to build a new shed on the site of the old bus depot on Valgeweg in the village.
His first plan was based on the construction of a commercial shed in combination with a home. Local residents successfully went to court to challenge the environmental permit issued by the municipality.
“The judge ruled in our favor on eight of the nine objections we raised,” says local resident Hans Bierma. The permit was revoked on this basis.
Last year, entrepreneur Pettinga purchased a farm just outside the village to move his business activities there. According to Bierma, the move was a blessing for the village.
He says: “Pettinga is a tough entrepreneur. Storing the cranes was no problem. But repairs to the taps, maintenance and cleaning also took place here. As early as seven in the morning, people were using high-pressure cleaners on public roads. That was a nuisance.”
Surprise
There was great surprise in the village when the former bus depot was largely demolished by a demolition hammer in one day and without prior notice at the beginning of this year.
“The ugliest part of the warehouse has remained standing,” says local resident Bierma. He and other villagers sounded the alarm at the municipality.
But by then it was already too late. “Prior to demolition, ecological research (possible presence of bats and the like) should have been carried out. That investigation failed to materialize.”
At the end of last year, entrepreneur Pettinga submitted an application to the municipality for the construction of a new warehouse on the site of the demolished bus depot. Despite the previous court ruling, the application was honored by B and W.
“Such a building with an industrial destination does not fit in a residential village like Feerwerd. Note that the municipality itself previously designated Feerwerd as a ‘residential village’. Why is the application not assessed against the criteria that apply to a residential village?”
According to Bierma, the municipality refuses to respond to his substantive objections: “Because I live 99 meters away from the former bus depot and have no view of it, my objection has been declared inadmissible.
The municipality disputes that I am an interested party.”
Not fully fledged?
This state of affairs is unpalatable for Bierma and his fellow villagers. “Just like 64,999 residents of this municipality, we are allowed to pay taxes. But our objections are not taken seriously.
As if we are not full residents of this municipality. I don’t feel like a Westerkwartier resident myself,” he says.
In response, entrepreneur Pettinga assures that he has no plans to move his company back to the center of Feerwerd. “The new warehouse that we want to build on the site of the depot is intended for the storage of private items, such as hobby cars, caravans and boats,” he says.
According to the municipality, the revised building plan fits in with the zoning plan. The municipality therefore sees no grounds to reject the application.
