When the residents of the Innersdijk residential care center moved to Ten Boer at the end of 2011, they would return to a new building three years later. But the site in the Beijum district has been fallow since it was demolished and there is no indication that this will change any time soon. The report of a difficult search.
Who in the archives of Dagblad van het Noorden dives, comes across one newspaper headline after another about Innersdijk. ‘New construction of Innersdijk will start next year’ (2013), for example, or ‘New Innersdijk on hold’ (2014) and ‘Construction of new Innersdijk will start in autumn’ (2017). But after that last announcement, things remain quiet, because construction never started.
In Beijum, the municipality of Groningen and residents are currently working on a temporary use of the site, which is approximately 17,000 square meters in size. This means that there are no plans to build anything in the short term, while the housing shortage is enormous. Why is that piece of land still vacant?
Local residents know nothing
“We wonder that too,” says Yvonne Scholtens. She lives in the apartment complex next to the vacant lot. With her neighbors Theo Smit, Joop Brouwer and Jakob van Dijken, she secretly likes that green view.
“I see all kinds of birds and ducks, that doesn’t necessarily have to be different,” says Smit, who has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years. “But I see that something has to be done for Beijum. You can expect that you can develop something there in all those years.”
“It is not a calling card for the neighborhood,” adds Joop Brouwer. He points to the construction fences around the site. “It mainly radiates sadness. It will take far too long, but it will be a matter of money.”
Van Dijken would prefer to see senior housing being built, because there is a major shortage of them in Beijum. “If you put 20 senior housing next door, 20 family homes will become available in the neighborhood.”
The complex in which they live was built by the Patrimonium housing association and, in addition to a community centre, contains 24 seniors’ homes. It stands on land that once belonged to Innersdijk. So it is possible. But strangely enough, that is easier said than done for the rest of the Innersdijk site.
Who owns the land?
A search for information follows. The logical first step is a telephone call to the owner of the land: Zorggroep Groningen. But the outcome of that call is unsatisfactory. An employee of the Marketing and Communications department disputes that the land belongs to the healthcare group and refers to the municipality of Groningen. She does indicate that there are ongoing discussions with the municipality about the use of the site. “It seems to be quite complicated.”
A call to the municipality of Groningen yields a crystal clear answer: the land does indeed belong to Zorggroep Groningen. A spokesperson gives some hope for the future by saying that a long-term plan is currently being discussed with the care group and a housing association. “We would like a development there that adds something to the square. But it is an unruly process that takes a lot of time.”
The housing association involved appears to be Nijestee. What are the plans? A spokesperson for the corporation does not know and promises to call back with an answer. The next day the phone rings, but this answer is also unsatisfactory. “We are indeed sitting together, but we cannot say anything about it yet,” he says. Why not? “There is no concrete plan yet.”
Pointing back and forth
Then the municipality of Groningen reports again. The spokesperson explains that plans have been rejected in the past due to changing regulations and building codes. Zorggroep Groningen really needs to say more about its future plans, the spokesperson said.
Attempt two at the care group. Another colleague from the Marketing and Communications department is asked the same question: why has the site been vacant for so long?
Employee: “Um, I can’t say anything sensible about that. I’ve only been working here for a year.”
“Can you find that out for me?”
Employee: “I don’t know if that’s up to us.”
“But that’s your job, isn’t it? You work in the communications department, right?”
Employee: “I think finding out is your job as a journalist. Not mine.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do, by asking you a question.”
This goes back and forth for a while, with finally the request to email the question. “Then I’ll see if we can formulate an answer.” There are two questions: why it has not been possible to develop anything on the vacant land to date and what the care group’s wishes are for the site.
Nursing home care is the problem
After exactly one week the answer will appear in the email, but only to the second question. The care group confirms that it is in discussions with the municipality of Groningen and Nijestee and concludes the email with: ‘In any case, Care Group Groningen still has the wish to realize a new building for Innersdijk.’
That last sentence appears to be the core of the problem. The desire to build a nursing home is also the reason that a previous development with a housing association did not go ahead. In the hallway of the city hall, councilor Rik van Niejenhuis (PvdA) explains that the Innersdijk site is one of the few projects that he has been on top of continuously since his first day as councilor. “I’m really annoyed by that empty spot,” he says.
Although Van Niejenhuis understands the position of Zorggroep Groningen, which wants a new building for nursing home care, the alderman does not want the new Innersdijk at the same location in Beijum. “Elderly care is different than 20 years ago. It will soon become a self-absorbed hospital for the elderly,” he fears. “We want to build something on this site that adds liveliness to the square and that will really benefit the local residents. We can then provide the care, because that is also necessary, somewhere else.”
Is it an option for the municipality to buy the land? “That could be a solution,” says Van Niejenhuis. “But then Zorggroep Groningen must first find a place for care somewhere else.” The municipality has a number of locations in mind for a possible land exchange, the councilor says. “These are good constructive conversations, but it may take some time.”
‘I don’t know if we will still experience it’
In the Herdenhoes community center in Beijum, next to the vacant lot, Theo Smit, Joop Brouwer, Jakob van Dijken and Yvonne Scholtens are sitting at a table. They hear the outcome of the search and do not think that the green field next to their apartment complex will quickly be filled up. The residents are most disappointed by the lack of information.
“We would like to hear more from Zorggroep Groningen,” says Smit. During the evenings when the temporary use of the site was discussed, the owner of the land was also conspicuous by his absence, according to Brouwer. Characteristic, they think. Smit: “We would like to be involved. We live here.”
They can live with a return of Innersdijk. “I have done activities with residents of Innersdijk for years,” says Smit. At the same time, he knows that the chance of this, given the words of the councilor, is not very great. In any case, it will still take some time before anything is built. Laughing, he says: “But we are now at such an age that I don’t know if we will live to see that.”
Every disadvantage has its advantage: the residents can continue to enjoy the green view, the birds and ducks for the time being.
Tags: Beijumers dont understand Innersdijk site Groningen fallow years demolition
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