Onno Hoes, commissioned by the Province of North Holland and the administrators of the 4 North Holland environmental services, investigated how cooperation between the environmental services can be further improved.
Good cooperation leads to a stronger and future-proof system for permits, supervision, and enforcement (VTH). These are important tools for a safe and healthy living environment.
Recommendations
In his report, Onno Hoes concludes that cooperation within the North Holland VTH system must gradually become stronger and more recognizable. According to Hoes, the Environmental Act is the foundation: tasks should be handled jointly where necessary, but remain close where possible. For residents and businesses, the environmental services should feel like one counter. Currently, it is not always clear to residents and entrepreneurs which tasks belong to which environmental service.
Hoes makes the following recommendations, among others:
- ensure that the environmental services have the same tasks and broaden the task package;
- improve the regional management of and by the environmental services;
- explore a merger between the Environmental Service IJmond (ODIJmond) and the Environmental Service Noordzeekanaalgebied (OD NZKG). This aligns with the decision of the general board of ODIJmond on July 9, 2025.
Follow-up
The Provincial Executive (GS) will engage in discussions with environmental services, municipalities, and other partners in the VTH system about the recommendations. In the first quarter of 2026, GS will announce the steps taken following the report.
