Kardinge, a Groningen area famous for its sporting facilities and wildlife, will undergo an extensive housing development project. In addition to the building of between 400-700 houses, the area will experience a major restructure, with the municipality planning the relocation of its swimming pool and skating rink.
The project, which would see Kardinge transformed into a mid to high-end residential area with twelve-storey flats as well as a hotel and an MBO school, was revealed on the 25th of June to mixed responses by residents of the surrounding Lewenborg and Beijum neighborhoods, reports Sikkom.
“I have the feeling that a new Kardinge district is being built here,” said one of the residents to the Dagblad van het Noorden. She added that she is worried about the explosion of activity in Kardinge, citing that the area is “too small” to fit all the new facilities.
Other residents are worried about the impact that the new developments will have on wildlife in Kardinge, despite the municipality’s promises to keep the nature in the area intact.
Already in October of 2021, plans were made to convert the Kardingerbult hill into a skating rink with a toboggan run, reports RTV Noord. The plans were met with resistance from both Party for the Animals (PvdD) members and local residents who were worried about losing the natural beauty of the hill.
In the latest set of plans, the toboggan run seems to have been scrapped altogether, and the ice rink will now be located next to the hill, rather than on it.
How representative these plans are of the final expansion and when the ambitious development project is set to begin its construction, remains to be seen.
