This is stated by Minister Keijzer (Housing and Spatial Planning) on behalf of several other officials in a letter to the House of Representatives. In the letter, the minister explains the outcomes of the Administrative Consultations on the Living Environment (BOL) that the National Government, regions, and local authorities have concluded this week.

Minister Keijzer: “The Netherlands is small, but we excel in what we achieve together. For centuries, we have been building cities and villages behind our dikes. We can do that today as well. It is essential that all governments and society work together.”

In addition to the spatial arrangements per province, implementation agendas have been established for several of the 16 so-called NOVEX areas during the discussion rounds. In these areas, the physical challenges and their accumulation are so complex that the National Government and regions work intensively together in the area-oriented approach. For example, in port, industrial, and urbanization areas. The implementation agendas outline agreements on who, what, and when to achieve the joint objectives.

For housing and accessibility, the cabinet has allocated € 5 billion and € 2.5 billion respectively. To effectively address the housing challenge in the Netherlands, new large-scale housing locations must be designated. For complex locations where at least 3,500 homes are planned by 2034, additional guidance from the National Government is needed.

It has been noted in the discussions that promising large-scale housing locations are located within the municipalities of Alkmaar, Apeldoorn, Hengelo/Enschede, and Helmond. In the coming period, a joint overview will be created regarding the specific spatial challenges and necessary investments for these locations.

The new locations will be in addition to the current 17 large-scale housing areas and will be included in the new Spatial Policy Document.