defence
In collaboration with
Gelderland transmission
News from the NOS•
The defense follows the construction of a radar station in Herwijnen, between Gorinchem and Zaltbommel. “There is no plan B,” Secretary of State Van der Maat said last night on a briefing evening in the village, where residents are concerned about radar radiation.
About 150 interested residents attended the meeting organized by the defense on the construction of the radar plant. Many of them returned home angrier after the secretary of state’s explanation than they had come, writes Gelderland transmission.
“This is, in a word, outrageous,” says an enraged villager. “This is no longer a democracy, eh. There is a village resisting with 2,500 men and a secretary of state who pretends we don’t exist. We can’t stand it. We’re not done yet.”
Secretary of State Van der Maat stressed last night that the radar post must be installed quickly. “Because at the moment we don’t have enough information about what is happening in our airspace. If planes are approaching us in the southern part of our country or in the Randstad, or if a rocket is flying in, we just see it too late. it’s a big concern. Many people don’t know this and we have to solve this problem. “
“We choose Herwijnen because housing floors and floors around windmills are not disturbed here. Skyscrapers near a radar station are not allowed. We can also start building here quickly. It is the least bad option.”
Gelderland transmission
According to the villagers, there are enough alternatives to build the radar station in a different location. “There are places in the municipality of Lopik where it is much freer, where there is hardly any housing in the area and where the station can be built in three or six months,” says Ruben van der Horst of the Niet Nog Een Radar foundation in Herwijnen.
Van der Maat disagrees with this. “We have looked at a total of fifteen locations and there is no support anywhere. In all the places where we as a cabinet have said ‘we will take it’, there is resistance.”
Radar also in Friesland
In addition to the defense radar that will be installed in Herwijnen, there is also a second radar station for airspace protection in Wier, Friesland, which causes noise disturbance. A dome is now being built around it. Herwijnen’s radar will have a similar dome.
