Boxtel Council Pushes for Stricter Pesticide Rules and Rejects Telecom Mast Amid Local Concerns
Boxtel’s municipal council has taken steps to protect residents from pesticide exposure and rejected a telecom mast proposal over traffic safety concerns. Key decisions include stricter ornamental horticulture regulations and a push for nationwide pesticide protections, impacting local health and environment.
| Topic | Decision/Action | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Future Plan Hoogheem | Motion withdrawn; council to receive overview of ongoing plans within 3 months. | June 2026 |
| Walnut Tree Initiative | Motion withdrawn; no action plan for planting 27 walnut trees. | N/A |
| Protection Rules for Ornamental Horticulture | Motion deferred; stricter pesticide rules (250m spray-free zones, CMR ban) proposed. | June 2026 |
| Referral Mast Peerkesbos 1 | Negative advisory opinion adopted; motion for traffic safety improvements passed. | Immediate |
| Programme for Nature, Landscape and Biodiversity | Removed from agenda; full participation required before resubmission. | TBD |
| Unanimous Decisions | Adopted: Profile of Boxtel, zoning plan revision, BOPA for De Molenwiek/Liduinaterrein, Wmo 2026 Centre Regulation. | Immediate |
The Boxtel municipal council oversees local governance, including environmental policies, urban planning, and public health initiatives. Its decisions directly shape regulations and infrastructure that affect residents’ daily lives, such as pesticide use and telecom infrastructure.
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Decisions of the municipal council on 10 March 2026
During the council meeting on 10 March, the municipal council of Boxtel discussed various topics.
Agenda
The agenda included:
- Motion out of order: ‘Future Plan Hoogheem’
- Motion out of order: ‘A walnut tree in every neighbourhood’
- Motion out of order: ‘Protection rules for ornamental horticulture (preparatory decision)’
- Adoption of ‘The profile of Boxtel’
- Programme for Nature, Landscape and Biodiversity Boxtel; wishes and considerations
- Recovery decision for the zoning plan ‘Rural area, revision 2020’
- Binding advisory right – BOPA – De Molenwiek, Achterberghstraat 20 in Boxtel
- Binding advisory right – BOPA – referral mast Peerkesbos 1
- Binding advisory right – BOPA – manor building Liduinaterrein Boxtel
- Optimising the working method of the anterior agreements
- Permission to adopt the Centre Regulation for the Meierij region Wmo 2026
- View on the framework letter 2027 GGD Hart voor Brabant
- View on the framework note 2027 Brabants Historisch Informatiecentrum
- View on the framework note 2027 Omgevingsdienst Brabant Noord
Below you can read which decisions the councillors took.
What did the municipal council discuss?
Amended: Motion out of order: ‘Future Plan Hoogheem’
D66, PvdA-GroenLinks and Combinatie95 request the board to:
- Provide the municipal council with an overview of ongoing and already known future plans for Hoogheem within three months, as well as how these plans are integrally aligned.
The proposers withdrew the motion after the alderman promised to provide the requested information.
Motion out of order: ‘A walnut tree in every neighbourhood’
PvdA-GroenLinks requests the board to develop an action plan within three months to plant 27 walnut trees in the neighbourhoods by the end of 2026-2027, each accompanied by an information board.
After deliberation, the proposers withdrew the motion.
Amended: Motion out of order: ‘Protection rules for ornamental horticulture (preparatory decision)’
PvdA-GroenLinks, Combinatie95, SP, D66 and INbox request the board to:
- Develop preliminary protection rules that at least include:
- Spray-free zones of at least 250 metres along residential areas, schools, childcare facilities, healthcare institutions, sensitive functions and recreational routes.
- A ban on crop protection agents with CLP CMR classification categories 1A, 1B or 2 (H350, H351, H340, H341, H360, H361).
- Mandate an environmental permit for environmentally harmful activities in intensive ornamental horticulture, as referred to in Chapter 5 of the Environment and Planning Act.
- Submit a preparatory decision with these preliminary protection rules to the municipal council for decision-making as soon as possible, but no later than June 2026.
- Develop an amendment to the environmental plan within 1.5 years of its entry into force to permanently embed this protection.
- Initiate discussions with surrounding municipalities and the province on uniform regional protection rules and inform the council in writing about this by June 2026 at the latest.
- Send a letter on behalf of the municipality of Boxtel to the central government and the House of Representatives, calling for national protection of residents against exposure to pesticides, including the substantiation from this motion.
- Continue dialogue with the sector and other stakeholders.
- Submit an enforcement plan to the council within three months of entry into force.
After deliberation, the factions BALANS, CDA and VVD stated that they did not consider the amended motion ripe for decision-making. For this reason, the amended motion is deferred and will be re-agendaed for the next council meeting on 31 March 2026.
Programme for Nature, Landscape and Biodiversity Boxtel
The municipal council can submit wishes and considerations regarding this recovery decision to influence the proposed decision-making by the board on the Programme for Nature, Landscape and Biodiversity Boxtel.
The BALANS faction proposed removing the ‘Programme for Nature, Landscape and Biodiversity Boxtel’ from the agenda. They believe that full and balanced participation should take place before the board submits this proposal to the council. The municipal council agreed to remove this item from the agenda. BALANS, CDA, SP and VVD voted in favour; INbox, PvdA-GroenLinks, D66 and Combinatie95 voted against.
Amended: Binding advisory right – BOPA – Referral mast Peerkesbos 1 in Boxtel
The council is asked to issue a negative binding advisory opinion on granting an environmental permit for a referral mast at Peerkesbos 1 in Boxtel.
Amendment ‘Negative binding advisory opinion’
Combinatie95 submitted this amendment to change the proposal to issue a positive binding advisory opinion into issuing a negative binding advisory opinion for granting the environmental permit (BOPA) for the construction of a referral mast (35 metres) at the location Peerkensbos 1 in Boxtel.
Motion ‘Traffic safety around Peerkesbos 1’
Combinatie95 submitted this motion requesting the board to enter into discussions with the initiator to, among other things, achieve an additional consideration in the form of an investment in traffic safety around the Keulsebaan and Peerkesbos, specifically in the form of a future-proof and demonstrably traffic-safe cycle crossing and road layout of Peerkesbos.
Voting
First, the amendment was put to the vote and adopted. Combinatie95, D66, SP, INbox and PvdA-GroenLinks voted in favour; VVD, BALANS and CDA voted against.
Next, the amended council proposal was put to the vote. The proposal was adopted; Combinatie95, D66, SP, INbox and PvdA-GroenLinks voted in favour; VVD, BALANS and CDA voted against.
Subsequently, the motion was put to the vote and adopted. Combinatie95, D66, SP, INbox and PvdA-GroenLinks voted in favour; VVD, BALANS and CDA voted against.
But more decisions were taken...
The municipal council unanimously agreed to:
- Profile of Boxtel
- Recovery decision for the zoning plan ‘Rural area, revision 2020’
- Binding advisory right – BOPA – De Molenwiek, Achterberghstraat 20 in Boxtel
- Binding advisory right – BOPA – manor building Liduinaterrein Boxtel
- Optimising the working method of the anterior agreements
- Permission to adopt the Centre Regulation for the Meierij region Wmo 2026
- View on the framework letter 2027 GGD Hart voor Brabant
- View on the framework note 2017 Brabants Historisch Informatiecentrum
- View on the framework note 2027 Omgevingsdienst Brabant Noord
Want to know more?
Watch or listen to the council meeting again:
You can also find the full agenda, meeting documents and more about the content of the amendments and motions there.
Do you have any questions?
Please contact the clerk’s office via.