Building in the countryside, Annelies (51) encounters the unruly practice in Thesinge: ‘I cannot explain why this is not allowed’

Four curious sheep rush towards the visitor expectantly. It is pleasantly cool in the old barn next to their meadow on this summer spring day. Not for nothing, says Annelies Hofstede. “In the past, cabbage was stored here. Boeskolen : white, red and savoy cabbage, for sale at the auction in Groningen.”

In the past, that was many years ago. Until the middle of the last century, this region between Garmerwolde and Thesinge functioned as the storehouse for the City. Milk, butter, cheese, potatoes and vegetables came from here for centuries, until supermarkets emerged after the war.

Farm collapsed from misery in 1950

In 2024, there are few farmers left in this rural area of ​​the municipality of Ten Boer, which has now been absorbed by Groningen. Most farms now have a residential or non-agricultural business destination.

And the small farm that once stood here next to the ‘boeskoolschuur’ has also long disappeared. “Collapsed from misery in 1950,” says Hofstede. It was already so dilapidated that it did not even require a storm.

Father Harm Hofstede bought the remaining barn and associated land in 1977 from the grower who ran his business there for many decades. His plan was to build a new company home there within a few years for his then young family and painting company.

Only agricultural activities are allowed

Hofstede senior approached the municipality twice for permission, but both times he received no response. After the last attempt in the 1990s failed, he disappointedly put his construction ambitions aside and continued to live in the Thesinge basin. But in 2021, daughter Annelies (now 51) set her sights on a new house in Dad’s place, now for her own family. For the time being, however, she is achieving just as little results as her father.

The problem: the old farm site is zoned ‘agricultural’. An ordinary house is not allowed to be built there, only agricultural activities are allowed. Even though they have not been operated there for many decades, and the ‘boeskoolshed’ still mainly functions as a junk shed for the family.

She still encounters quite a bit of goodwill for her plans for the empty farm plot, which is still bordered by the original tree line. The municipality of Groningen is in principle positive about new construction, but the necessary zoning plan change also requires permission from the province. And based on the current rules, he sees no room for a residential destination.

The province and municipality view the region near Thesinge differently

Remarkably, both regional authorities use the same arguments, but weigh them completely differently. The municipality sees the new home that the Hofstedes want to build as a ‘spatial qualitative addition’ to the traditional ribbon development on the Lageweg between Garmerwolde and Thesinge.

According to the province, there is no such thing as a ribbon. In the opinion of the officials at the Martinikerkhof, there are too few houses in the area to be able to speak of a ‘building cluster’. Only then can the province make an exception to the ban on new housing construction in rural areas.

There is hope: a further relaxation of the rules for building in rural areas is in the making. The four coalition partners in the Provincial Executive have expressly included this in their council program and the previous council was also working on expanding the rules.

To make a profit in the fight against housing shortages

But it will take at least mid-2025 before this plan has been developed to the point where the Provincial Council can make a decision on it, expects responsible deputy Bram Schmaal (Groninger Belang). “We want to look more at ‘it is possible unless…’ than by definition ‘no’, as is now the case,” he responded last week to questions from the CDA-States faction.

CDA leader Robert de Wit believes that significant gains can be made in rural areas in the fight against housing shortages. This is now also failing in the Westerkwartier, Het Hogeland and other regions. “It cannot be the case that we have a shortage of tens of thousands of homes while there is so much space where we can build, but where this is not allowed at the moment.”

De Wit encourages Schmaal not to leave good plans on the shelf until new rules are adopted or not next year. “There is the will and intention to look at this positively,” assures the deputy. But he can’t guarantee anything. “Of course I have the legal framework within which I have to act.”

‘I cannot explain in normal language why this is not allowed’

In the meantime, Hofstede’s patience is being severely tested. “It sounds very nice that the deputy wants a more flexible policy, but at the same time it is also frustrating. Because for us it still remains: no. And I cannot explain in normal language why this is not allowed. This is a logical place to do something good with. But apparently they prefer an empty piece of land with a shed on it than a normal house.”

While more flexible rules both in Thesinge and the rest of the province can yield a lot for the tight housing market and the quality of life, argue Hofstede and her legal advisor and former fellow villager Arend Koenes. “If we can move to this place, our house will become available for my parents and they in turn will make a home available for a young family,” Hofstede outlines.

New construction stimulates traffic flow in the village

This ensures flow and new impulses in the countryside. “Now young people are leaving because they cannot find a home in their own village. While the elderly continue to live in their large house because there is nothing smaller for them here.”

These are modest numbers per village, especially compared to the large new construction projects in the city and the regional centers. But together it adds up to a considerable total, Koenes calculates.

“Minister Hugo de Jonge calls on the province to do its utmost to solve the housing shortage. Well, if the province does its best here, you can create a few hundred such plots per year. Keep that up for ten years and you will have several thousand homes throughout the province.”