The VVD wants regular and temporary homes to be built faster. VVD Member of Parliament Peter de Groot calls for this. He thinks that the focus is still too much on inner-city construction, while the opportunities lie in the countryside.
Today, De Groot tweeted that it ‘doesn’t look like anything’ that housing construction is coming to a standstill. He therefore calls it a strange situation that there is such a great shortage of homes in the Netherlands, and that a lot of construction is therefore required. ‘But reports keep appearing that construction is actually collapsing, while you want construction to increase,’ he says. ‘We need that. So it is also a cry from the heart for those waiting for a home.’
‘It is a cry of the heart for those waiting for a home’
According to De Groot, there is still room for improvement in the locations of the housing deals, as Housing Minister Hugo de Jonge has devised with the provinces. These housing deals are mainly aimed at inner cities, while the space is located just outside the city. De Groot is thinking of an extra street in the municipality for this, for example. ‘But also at larger locations outside the city.’ And that is important, because those locations are often cheaper than the expensive and complex environments in the city. Exactly what we need to speed up construction and keep it going.’
Everywhere
As an example, De Groot mentions the possibility of building hundreds of thousands of homes on a government property location on the outskirts of Almere or on the outskirts of Utrecht. ‘But there are also examples of extra-urban locations near Zwolle that have become available due to a political twist,’ he says. ‘You can also build a lot of houses there.’
Political reporter Leendert Beekman endorses the difficulty Minister De Jonge has in finding suitable building locations. ‘It’s one of the big problems,’ says Beekman. ‘So he doesn’t just want to look at inner-city locations, but also at places on the outskirts of the city or village.’
Objection procedure
But, Beekman emphasizes, the government also encounters other problems. ‘If you want to add a small piece of greenery, you will already encounter objection procedures,’ he says. ‘That takes an average of six years, and De Jonge wants to put an end to this lengthy objection procedure. He says the “Not in my backyard” culture “holds back a lot.”
In addition, according to Beekman, a lot of money has been released to get stalled construction projects back on track. ‘250 million euros have been brought forward for this’, concludes Beekman. ‘And another 300 million has been made available for the construction of flexible homes, which are being built outside cities. So De Jonge does see the problem.’
