The municipality of Ede is going to make it easier for farmers to use the land on which they live for a different purpose. The first hundred farmers who make use of the new scheme also have to pay less if they change the destination from ‘agricultural business’ to, for example, ‘residential’ or ‘recreation’.
In the vast Veluwe municipality there are an estimated six hundred pieces of land with an agricultural destination, while many residents no longer have a farm or want to stop doing so soon. They should actually change the destination to something else.
Ede wants to make that easier and has therefore designed the special arrangement. Farmers can thus more easily convert their agricultural destination into housing, living with a small-scale business, living with a small social function such as daytime activities and living with small-scale recreation.
For the first hundred farmers to sign up for the scheme, the costs are limited to 800 euros. Normally, such a procedure costs between 11,000 and 17,000 euros.
“We are giving farmers who are quitting farming new opportunities,” says responsible alderman Jan Pieter van der Schans. According to the municipality, the scheme is “especially interesting for smaller yards with relatively few buildings”. Large farms are not eligible for this.
Ede, a municipality on the Veluwe and in the Gelderse Vallei, is also located in an area where significant nitrogen reduction is required. This scheme contributes to this: the permits for agricultural companies that become available under this scheme do not go to other farmers.
