Billions for Better Accessibility: Cabinet Accelerates Housing Construction in Cities and Villages

The Netherlands faces a historically large housing construction challenge and aims to build 100,000 homes annually. To stay on track and facilitate new housing construction, good accessibility and connectivity of new and existing residential areas are essential. The cabinet has therefore made €2.5 billion available for improving accessibility to new homes, both in urban areas and smaller communities. The cabinet now opts to spread investments across the entire country, including Caribbean Netherlands, with extra attention to areas where housing market pressure is highest.

Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Robert Tieman: “A beautiful home is one thing, but if it is not well connected to our infrastructure, you literally get nowhere. With this large package of measures, we are now ensuring that the construction of as many new homes as possible gets that extra boost as quickly as possible. I am proud of this package: small and large projects are supported across the country.”

Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning Mona Keijzer: “New future-proof residential areas require significant investments in a livable public space and good accessibility. It is fantastic that we can give an extra impulse to the necessary housing construction in the Netherlands in this way. After all, we want to build as many homes as quickly as possible, ensure that people can live comfortably in their new neighborhood, and that it can be easily reached.”

State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management Thierry Aartsen: “Good infrastructure is the backbone of our society. Whether it concerns trains, buses, metros, or trams: without strong connections, we cannot build new homes, grow our economy, or allow people to travel quickly and reliably to work or study. This package gives a huge boost. We are investing not only in the housing challenge but also in our economy and accessibility.”

Of the €2.5 billion, €1.3 billion is allocated for Short-term Housing Construction (WoKT). These are housing projects where construction will start before 2030. This money enables the planned homes to be well connected, allowing construction to start quickly. This includes building roads, bike paths, and tram lines. Examples include the regional cycling route Veluwewaalpad between Arnhem and Nijmegen. In total, this will deliver approximately 145,000 homes by 2034.

Furthermore, 17 existing nationally large-scale housing areas receive an additional boost of €1.2 billion. With this amount, the national government contributes to 44 infrastructure measures that keep these areas accessible and reachable. The living and residential quality will improve significantly in existing and new neighborhoods in those municipalities. For example, the government contributes to the construction of the Merwedelijn for Utrecht because it is important for both the realization of the new neighborhoods Groot Merwede and eventually Rijnenburg. Not all good plans could be honored. These plans will be passed on to the formation of a new cabinet.

Additionally, the cabinet has made €877 million available through the so-called Area Budget. This allows for area-specific measures such as solutions for network congestion and soil remediation. These are necessary to realize housing construction within the 17 existing and 4 new nationally large-scale housing areas: Alkmaar, Apeldoorn, Enschede/Hengelo, and Helmond. Investments are also made in public spaces by adding greenery and relocating businesses. The funds from the Area Budget and infrastructure contribute to the construction of approximately 128,000 homes in total by 2035.

For all national contributions to housing projects, it is necessary to make further agreements on frameworks and conditions with municipalities. These will be established this year at the Administrative MIRT consultations in November.

In March, the cabinet established criteria and assessment frameworks for evaluating municipal proposals. The goal is to help build as many accessible homes as quickly as possible throughout the Netherlands. Feasibility and practicability are also assessed, along with the impact on network congestion, nitrogen space, finances, and the required capacity at Rijkswaterstaat and ProRail.