Kronenburg student campus in Amstelveen another step closer
After years of uncertainty, the Kronenburg student campus in Amstelveen finally seems to be taking shape. Earlier, aircraft noise from Schiphol Airport threw a spanner in the works, but by taking measures minister Uitermark of the Interior now hopes to get quick approval for the project.
Could the shortage of student housing in Amsterdam finally be somewhat reduced? Indeed, the solution to the problem seems a little closer again, now that the Kronenburg student campus could come about sooner than thought thanks to a legal cunning. Nothing is certain yet, but the Amstelveen municipality's revamped plans seem to be a step in the right direction.
1. What about the Kronenburg campus?
The Kronenburg issue has been a headache for both Amstelveen municipality and the state for years. Amstelveen has been walking around for ages with the ambitious plan to house thousands of students in the former office district. The area currently suffers from vacancy and derelict plots of land, and the arrival of student housing should counteract the deterioration. The Amstelveen municipality has long been looking for ways to make the area around the nearby Uilenstede campus more liveable. Additional student housing should play a role in this.
2. So why is there still no construction?
The Council of State and the Inspectorate of the Environment and Transport (ILT) - a body that supervises on behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management - put a stop to the municipality's plans at an earlier stage, because the noise pollution from overflying aircraft would be too severe. The area where the proposed campus was to be built is subject to quite a few restrictions due to noise from Schiphol Airport. Those rules are based on the Airport Planning Decree (LIB). This stipulates that the area around Schiphol is divided into different zones, within which different rules apply as far as residential construction is concerned. For example, in zones LIB-1 and LIB-2, near the runway, no building is allowed at all. In zone LIB-4 - The zone in which Kronenburg is located - restrictions on residential construction apply.
3 What about Uilenstede, which is also next to Schiphol, isn't it?
Student campus Uilenstede is in the same zone as Kronenburg, LIB-4, but was built before the Airport Planning Decree was introduced in 2003. This campus can therefore continue to exist.
4. But so now construction can go ahead on Kronenburg after all?
It seems so. Despite the ILT's objections, the Lower House immediately turned out to be in favour of the plan to build the campus in Amstelveen. The housing shortage in Amsterdam would be too acute, was the verdict. So then Housing Minister Huge de Jonge announced last year that he would relax the rules around noise pollution from Schiphol. So the Schiphol LIB had to be amended for this particular case so that the first 438 houses could be built. But now it turns out that this complex, time-consuming amendment of the noise rules may not be necessary after all. To get to work faster, Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Judith Uitermark is opting for the route of a declaration of no objection from the ILT. Such a declaration can be used to deviate from restrictions imposed by the LIB.
5. So why can there be this declaration now?
The original plan, which was rejected by the ILT and the Council of State, has now been amended in such a way that the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, Barry Madlener, is expected to be able to issue the required declaration of no objection after all. Indeed, to minimise the negative health effects of noise pollution, the houses will be built “sound-adaptive, insulated and well-positioned”, the municipality said in a press release. Short-term campus contracts should also ensure that students do not linger too long at Kronenburg, and thus are not unnecessarily exposed to the Schiphol noise. Thus, the 438 student houses could already be there sooner than thought. In addition, according to the updated plans, 3,500 short-stay residences will be built, for stays of up to six months. These houses could quickly be converted into regular student housing if the monitor to be conducted by the municipality shows that living on campus is not bad for health.
6. So are those 438 students not experiencing noise pollution?
Research from 2017 by the Schiphol Environment Council shows that young people experience substantially less annoyance from aircraft noise than people in other age categories. In addition, research by the GGD shows that experiencing long-term noise pollution from Schiphol can be bad for health, but those adverse effects apply to a lesser extent for temporary residents. This would make the location extremely suitable for student accommodation, the Amstelveen municipality reasoned. Figures from the Amstelveen municipality's measuring station also show that the noise pollution in large parts of Kronenburg is in practice lower than the LIB-4 zone classification suggests, and according to calculations by the same station, this pollution seems to be decreasing even further. Amstelveen also cited the cabinet's intentions to further minimise noise pollution from Schiphol.
7. Start building, then?
It could be, but student union Asva is not happy with the new plans. “ We are hugely disappointed,” said president Teun Otte. “ Thousands of houses could have been built, but in the end there will be mostly short-stay accommodation. So that is nothing more than a disguised student hotel. These should be permanent residences.” Asva is entering talks with DUWO to see if the plans can be changed. “ This was not acceptable to us,” Otte continued. “Those houses are coming anyway, but with those short-stay stays, more money is simply being made. This is at the expense of the tenants‘ position.” As for the proximity to Schiphol: “ With that logic, you could declare all of Hoofddorp shortstay.”
DUWO
In a reaction, DUWO says it had also hoped for more permanent student houses, but that the current plans are the best result at the moment. However, the ambition remains to realise more housing in time. “ Agreements have been made to conduct research into possible health damage due to noise pollution from Schiphol. If the research results show that there is no health damage, it can still be decided to give the short-stay units that have already been built the function of permanent residence after all. We have always argued that Uilenstede provides proof that successful student housing is possible. We therefore look forward to the announced studies with great confidence and remain hopeful that we can realise our original ambition in the longer term,” said a spokesperson.
