Municipality of AmstelveenThe vacant lot in Amstelveen has been vacant for years
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NOS News•today, 12:08•Changed today, 13:50
Student housing can now be built on a vacant lot in Amstelveen. For years this was impossible due to the noise and safety regulations around Schiphol. Those rules are now being adjusted.
This initially concerns more than 400 new homes, reports AT5. “Although there is still a long way to go, we can at least offer 438 students affordable housing,” says Alderman Floor Gordon of Amstelveen. “That is extremely important given the major shortage of student housing.”
The vacant lot in Amstelveen is located right next to Uilenstede, a series of flats that, with 3,500 student rooms, form the largest campus in the Netherlands. More than two years ago, the municipality decided to build another 4,000 homes, of which 2,500 are student homes.
But the government put a stop to that. The houses would be located under the approach path of the Buitenveldert runway, where aircraft pass over at an altitude of about 200 meters. “The decision is to protect residents around the airport in terms of health and against noise. This is not a healthy place to live,” the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management said in May 2022.
Parties noisier than airplanes
The ministry continued to oppose housing construction, despite fierce protests from the municipality and students. The municipality of Amstelveen mainly pointed to the housing shortage. At a demonstration in the pouring rain, students argued that their parties make more noise than low-flying planes.
The protests did not resonate with the ministry, but did in the House of Representatives. A majority of MPs instructed the (now outgoing) ministers Hugo de Jonge and Mark Harbers to come up with a “concrete proposal for the development of the Kronenburg location”.
The ministers write not to the House that a plan is being drawn up for the development of approximately 438 homes as the first phase of the development of this area. So they do not rule out that there could be more. It is unclear how this can be reconciled with the previous objections. The plan still needs to be developed.
Approach differently
It is already clear that the so-called Schiphol Airport Layout Decree is changed. That decision states that a maximum of 25 homes per (small) building plan may be developed in the Amstelveen area. But now the ministers are allowing a series of these small building plans to be combined, so that 438 homes can be built.
As far as the municipality of Amstelveen is concerned, it does not stop there. “If those homes are there, we will investigate the effects of the noise pollution,” said a spokeswoman. “And then we might also be able to build the rest of the homes from the original plan.”
But we are not there yet. First of all, the Airport Layout Decree must be amended. Moreover, it should become clear during the course of the year whether the owners of the land – a number of project developers – still want to build. After all, their original plans for 4,000 homes ended up in the trash. “We now have to consult with owners to see what is possible and feasible and where we can start with student housing,” said the councilor. “At the same time, we want to maintain the enthusiasm and involvement of all owners.”
2024-01-17 11:08:18
#noise #student #housing #Amstelveen
