Instead of reinforcing earthquake-impacted structures in the Zandplatenbuurt neighbourhood in Delfzijl, more than 500 private and council housing units will be demolished and re-built.
Translation by Thomas Ansell
RTV Noord reports that more than 500 properties in the Zandplatenbuurt in Delfzijl are to set to be demolished and rebuilt. In total, 386 homes for social rent (owned by local government) and 141 private residences will be demolished.
Residents were informed of the plans during a series of meetings on Saturday at De Molenberg Theatre. Homeowners and tenants in the neighbourhood have been living under a cloud of uncertainty for years: many of their homes were inspected two years ago, and last year, the properties were deemed eligible for structural reinforcement due to possible earthquake damage. Since that time, the residents of the Zandplatenbuurt have been anxiously following developments about funding for the next step.
The 386 socially-rented properties are certain to be demolished, but for owner-occupier properties, the owners themselves will have the last word. Mayor Gerard Beukema hopes that the private property owners will follow suit after seeing the benefits of a modern home, such as being able to get off the natural gas grid.
“But there will always be nay-sayers who won’t accept such developments”, Beukema told RTV Noord. Current residents have made it clear to both the municipality and the (public) housing corporation Acantus that they would only like to move once, which would mean that some residents would move away from the area for good.
Acantus has hired additional staff to inform all of the impacted tenants. The corporation will begin inviting residents for a consultancy in the near future. Reflecting the diversity of the local area, the information will be provided in Dutch, English, Turkish, Arabic, and Eritrean languages.
The demolition and reconstruction of the apartments and houses will begin on the Finsestraat and Balticpark, followed by the Schuitenzand flats and the low-rise properties in the Zandplatenbuurt Noord. The ambitious earthquake-readiness works are scheduled to be completed by 2025.
