There are still places where you can build: Etten-Leur is building a lot of affordable homes

« I always reacted to available rental properties, but I didn’t expect me to get in, because almost no one is coming to a house right now, » says Tamara van Zundert (22), resident of a flex home in Etten-Leur. « But then I suddenly got an invitation to view a house.

The temporary neighborhood where Van Zundert lives was conceived and built in two years. « That is really very fast, » says Corrina Pistorius, branch manager of Housing Corporation Alwel in Etten-Leur. « It takes an average of seven years here to create a home. » After fifteen years, the houses are moved and the area will be given a different destination.

Twenty of these hundred homes on the Veldbloemenhof are rented for two years to people who urgently need a home, the rest is regular social rent. Although the houses placed and is the landlord.

We determine the conditions on which you can build

The municipality of Etten-Leur stands out in an analysis of data on housing in the Netherlands, done by NRC. In 2024, 104 new -build homes per 10,000 inhabitants were delivered here, more than the Dutch average of 83 homes. This, in combination with a short construction time, attracted attention. « If last year already stood out, we should have been completely in the spotlight the year before, » says Alderman Jean-Pierre Schouw (General Local Interest, APB), « Then we yielded many more homes. »

What does Etten-Leur succeed in building quickly?

Nitrogen

Etten-Leur is a medium-sized city with 45,000 inhabitants in West Brabant. It is spacious, with wide connecting roads. « Space is no problem here, » says Schouw, « I think we could build many more homes here than according to the prognosis. » Lack of available building land is a common obstacle in other municipalities, according to conversations that NRC conducted with them about the faltering housing.

With regard to nitrogen, Etten-Leur is favorable. In many places in the Netherlands it is hardly possible to get a nature permit. A nature permit is granted if it has been shown that a construction project does not cause any additional damage to Natura-20000 areas. « Where we want to build is now pasture, » says Schouw. The nearest Natura-20000 area is the Ulvenhoutse Bos, which is twelve kilometers away. « You can build here by law. »

Romy Gommers in her new home.

But there is more to it for successful construction than just a favorable location. Firstly, there is political will in Etten-Leur to build many and affordable homes. The city council has close contact with all involved, such as project developers and local residents, but is not put off when not everyone is happy with the development of a new -build neighborhood. In addition, the municipality has always drawn the initiative for housing, the alderman’s statement is. « We determine the conditions that can be built. »

Housing corporation Alwel bought a monastery with the corresponding land and built new -build homes and twenty temporary homes. Elsewhere in Etten-Leur, office space has been demolished and replaced by 75 youth apartments and its old homes have been demolished to make way for more than twice as many new homes.

‘Stack stones’

« Compliments are appropriate to the municipality for the rapid construction of the Veldbloemenhof, because both the college and the city council have clearly said: » These homes are just going to come, « that really helps, » explains housing association director Karo van Dongen. Before a developer starts with ‘stacking stone’, permits must be granted and there is room for participation, objection and appeal. Participation procedures can cause a lot of delays.

« Because the municipality is so firm, we dared to order the hundred homes before the procedure was completely completed, » adds location manager Pistorius. « Etten-Leur is special in that. » Of course there was room for participation and participation. If the permit did not make ends meet, the houses had to be moved. In that case, the municipality and the corporation would share the costs for this, says Alderman Schouw. « Because we know what we have in each other, we can take risks that project developers will not take. »

The houses of the Veldbloemenhof have a permit to remain standing for fifteen years. « It looks a bit like Center Parcs here, » explains a resident of Zundert. You have larger houses where families live with children, some people have a lease contract to stay for two years, others fifteen years. « That sometimes clashes, it is a bit of your way to find each other. But everyone is really concerned, everyone helps each other. »

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Photo Merlin Daleman

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Photo Merlin Daleman

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<figure aria-labelledby="figcaption-1" class="figure" data-captionposition="icon" data-description="Kyara van Gurp: „Ik heb een huurcontract voor twee jaar, maar ik wil hier graag blijven wonen.”

Photo Merlin Daleman

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Photo Merlin Daleman

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Kayra van Gurp in her home in the Veldbloemenhof.

After fifteen years, the houses can be moved to another location. The residents also know that it will stop. « But in the meantime we are also going to build other houses that they can continue to, » assures Alderman Schouw. The Veldbloemenhof is part of the Haansberg district to be built, where 1,400 homes have to be. The place where the Flex homes are now will be used after moving the houses for something other than housing.

Electricity network

The alderman is not worried about the electricity supply. In various places in the Netherlands there is no more room for new connections to the power grid. « We are lucky that we are the first area in the region where a new layout of the electricity network is being realized. » The required medium voltage station has already been signed in the building plans.

« I expected that I would live in the big city around this age, » says resident Romy Gommers (24). « But I can’t imagine anything better. » Kyara van Gurp (23) is also happy with her brand new home: « I like it that it is quiet here. I have a lease contract for two years, but I would like to continue living here, » she says. « It is a pleasant neighborhood with a lot of social control, it feels safe here. »

The municipality of Etten-Leur purchases land itself for new construction projects. « This allows us to determine ourselves under which conditions are being built. For example, which part must consist of medium -term rent or social rental homes. But also that there must be other buildings, such as a cultural center, » says Schouw. The government is obliged that 30 percent of the new -build social rent must be and that 40 percent must fall into the medium -term segment.

Each neighborhood consists of homes in different price ranges, which is special

27 percent of the homes in Etten-Leur are in possession of the housing association. « Every neighborhood consists of homes in different price ranges, which is special, » explains Corporation Director Van Dongen. « In other places you see income districts: people with high incomes live together and people with low incomes somewhere else. In Etten-Leur, every neighborhood has a good mix, that improves the quality of life. »

« I had found a key, I wanted to give it back. That’s why I invited all local residents to a group app, » says Romy Gommers (24). « The key is back at the owner and we now have a very pleasant group app. »

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