A row of houses on Bogardeind in the heart of Geldrop must be demolished to make road widening possible. Toon Zegers has lived in the street for over thirty years and now has to give up his beloved hobby shed. “I can’t find such a beautiful place anywhere anymore”.
Toon takes us into his homemade handyman shed. “Sometimes I throw parties here for friends and during the day I do odd jobs here”, he says. Zegers is afraid of losing his barn forever if the road widening is carried out. He will receive a buyout sum from the municipality, but is not confident that he will find something like that again. “Where can I find fifty square metres?”, he says.
According to Toon, he is not the only one in the neighbourhood who thinks this way. “No one really wants to leave. Really no one at all”. Residents have been fighting to preserve their homes for years. It led to a battle with the municipality, all the way to the highest administrative court. That decided last week that the houses could be demolished after all. Much to the dissatisfaction of Toon and fellow residents in the street.
Broadening
According to the municipality, widening of the road is necessary. The traffic situation is now undesirable and sometimes dangerous, according to the municipal council, especially for cyclists. Toon doesn’t see the point in it. “I don’t understand it. The road before and after is not a three-lane road, so it adds little”, he concludes.
It is not yet known when demolition will begin.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
