The north side of Eindhoven Station is getting a metamorphosis. More than six thousand homes are to be built there. Various groups in the city council believe that the plans for the enormous project should become more concrete.
The plan has been in the making for some time: Fellenoord, now still offices and wide roads, will become the destination of some 6,000 to 7,000 homes. Thirty per cent should, if it is up to the coalition parties PvdA (labour party), D66 (democrats), GroenLinks (green left party), and CDA (christian democrats), become social housing. This should solve the housing shortage that Eindhoven is facing.
The parties in the council certainly see something in the plan. The largest party, GroenLinks, is a supporter. Other parties are also positive about the plans of the new city council for Fellenoord, but think that the plan should be more concrete. “It is a beautiful and ambitious plan”, Chris Dams of D66 says. “But if it’s not concrete enough, it could have serious financial consequences”.
Millions
And it’s also quite a financial challenge. The project will cost some €137,000,000. The municipality is therefore cooperating with the province and The Hague. Eindhoven already received €75,000,000 of this. The VVD also thinks the plans are beautiful, but also emphasizes that such an ambitious plan must be realistic. “Housing is needed, and it’s great that there will be affordable housing”, VVD council member Tom Meylink says. “But it also has to remain financially affordable. With all the demands about green space, social housing and affordable housing, it may not be realistic”.
Social rental housing
The PvdA specifically wants social rental housing to be guaranteed. It should become a place for everyone, including people with tight budgets, is the idea. “Therefore, we must ensure that the council can make adjustments”, Tjeerd Ritmeester expalins. “Social rental housing must be guaranteed, even if land costs or energy costs go up. The prices of the homes should not suffer from that. We are there for the people of Eindhoven, not the project developers”.
Green
Partij voor de Dieren (party for the animals) misses concrete objectives about greenery in the plan. “Housing is very important, of course, but no one gets happy with all that concrete”, Martijn Verhees of the opposition party says. The plan now says little about greenery, but if the area is also to be future-proof, there must be plans about rainwater collection and planting. “Otherwise we will have to adapt again twenty years from now, the plans now are not climate-proof”.
The city council is reviewing the first plans this week and next. After the summer, further consideration will be given to how everything can be realised.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
