Construction of 13 rental and owner-occupied homes starts festively in Blokzijl

The construction of 13 new owner-occupied and rental homes in Blokzijl has officially started! On Wednesday 13 November, director-manager Marcel Timmerman of Wetland Wonen and alderman Melvin Smit of the municipality of Steenwijkerland gave the starting signal for the construction by driving the first pile into the ground. This special milestone was celebrated together with the tenants, buyers and involved parties.

 

Festive gathering

With more than 40 guests, the start of the construction was festively announced. While enjoying a cup of coffee and cake, everyone was warmly welcomed and addressed by Marcel Timmerman of Wetland Wonen and alderman Melvin Smit. The group then left on foot for the construction site. Here, the director-manager and the alderman symbolically drove the first pile into the ground. Afterwards, a toast was raised to this special moment in the Prins Mauritshuis. Here, the future residents were able to get to know each other and the project team better. The meeting was a wonderful prospect for a new, close-knit neighborhood.

 

Comfortable and energy-efficient living

The new homes meet the increasing demand for social housing and affordable homes for starters in Blokzijl. The homes are divided over three residential blocks and offer a comfortable layout with a living room with open kitchen, 2 bedrooms, bathroom, terrace and storage room. The homes are built completely gas-free and energy-efficient. As a result, the new residents save considerably on energy costs. All homes are well insulated and equipped with a heat pump. Solar panels are placed on the roof. As a result, the homes are not only sustainable, but also ready for the future.

 

Completion autumn 2025

The homes were developed by Van den Berg Architects. Construction will be carried out by Knol Bouw from Hasselt. There will be 5 social rental homes on Willem Lodewijkstraat, 4 life-cycle-proof rental homes on Willem de Zwijgerstraat and 4 starter homes on Wilhelminastraat. The homes are expected to be completed in the autumn of 2025. The homes have now been allocated to future buyers and tenants. More information about the homes can be found at https://www.wetlandwonen.nl/aanbod/nieuwbouw/nieuwbouw-blokzijl 

Source: www.wetlandwonen.nl

 

Festive start of construction of 20 new homes in Sint Jansklooster

It's here! The construction of 12 social rental homes and 8 starter homes in Sint Jansklooster has officially started. On Wednesday 30 October, this moment was festively celebrated, together with the future residents and all parties involved. Alderman Melvin Smit of the municipality of Steenwijkerland and director-manager Marcel Timmerman of Wetland Wonen gave the official starting signal by symbolically driving the first pile into the ground.

 

Festive gathering

With an attendance of almost 50 people, it was a successful afternoon. While enjoying a cup of coffee and a pastry, all guests were warmly welcomed by director-manager Marcel Timmerman and alderman Melvin Smit. The group then walked to the construction site where the alderman and director-manager gave the official starting signal for construction. Afterwards, a toast was raised to the start of construction in the Wapen van Utrecht. Here, buyers and tenants were able to get to know each other and the project team.

 

Pleasant living with an energy-efficient character

The 20 single-family homes are divided over 5 residential blocks and have a living room with open kitchen, bathroom, 2 bedrooms, terrace and storage room.

The homes will be built completely gas-free and energy-efficient. This will be a pleasant place to live for the new residents, because it will save a lot on energy costs. All homes will be well insulated and equipped with a heat pump. Solar panels will be placed on the roof.

 

Completion autumn 2025

The homes were developed by TWA architects. Knol Bouw from Hasselt is responsible for the realization of the homes. There will be 12 social rental homes on the Bonkenhavenweg and van Isselmudenstraat and 8 starter homes on the Monnikenweg. The homes are expected to be completed in the fall of 2025. The homes have now been allocated to future buyers and tenants. More information about the homes can be found at  https://www.wetlandwonen.nl/aanbod/nieuwbouw/nieuwbouw-sint-jansklooster

Source: www.wetlandwonen.nl

 

Significant delay in new construction of De Meente Genemuiden, now that the last objector is standing firm

To the sorrow and some annoyance of Wetland Wonen director Marcel Timmerman, an objector is standing firm. That is why the new construction of care apartments at residential, care and service centre De Meente in Genemuiden has still not gotten off the ground. With dozens of victims as a result. According to Marcel Timmerman, a single objection to the construction of care apartments has unpleasant consequences. "Look, Genemuiden does not benefit from this. There is a lot of demand for apartments and those people now have to wait longer," he outlines. And they are queuing for an apartment. "During the information evenings about this plan, there were a few dozen interested parties. We see that the number of responses to available homes has increased significantly in Genemuiden." And the consequences are also great for Wetland Wonen. "With every month of delay, the construction costs increase and we have been missing rental income for a few years because homes have been demolished for it."

 

Planning

The construction sign has been there for about two years after the  plans were presented in July 2022.

According to planning, the new construction of 22 apartments should have been finished by now. On the website of the housing corporation from Vollenhove it still says: expected completion 2024. "We should get that off quickly," says Timmerman with a sour face. Because the piece of grass on the corner of Prins Willem Alexanderstraat and Jan van Arkelstraat is untouched. "It's becoming an unpleasant story." Wetland Wonen has received the building permit. But can't do anything with it because there is still an objection from the neighborhood. "It looks like it will end up in court. That could cause a delay of one and a half to maybe three years."

"It's not even so much about the content of our building plan. An objection was made on procedural grounds. And that while we really spent a lot of time consulting with the neighborhood," says Timmerman. Initially,  nine opinions were  submitted. That was a year ago. "The plans were adjusted accordingly. Eight submitters of an opinion were satisfied at the time. But one was not and he continues to resist."

 

Promise

Is there a chance that the housing corporation will abandon the new construction at De Meente if the delay continues for a few more years? Timmerman gives a clear answer to that question. "We are going to build. We promised Genemuiden that and we are keeping that promise. But the way things are going is sour."

Wetland Wonen wants to deliver a total of 45 apartments at De Meente in two phases. In order to realize this plan on the corner of Prins Willem Alexanderstraat and Jan van Arkelstraat, more than forty outdated care homes were demolished a few years ago.

Phase 1 includes 22 apartments and the plan for this is ready to be implemented but is delayed by the last objection. "In Genemuiden we now hear stories of: Wetland is so slow. But it is really not our fault," says Timmerman. "We would rather start building today than tomorrow."

Because after the first phase there is a second phase with another 23 apartments. The construction schedule of the housing corporation now assumes 2029 as the completion year.

 

Nursing rooms

Wetland Wonen has more plans for De Meente. A cooperation agreement was recently signed with healthcare organisation IJsselheem. The current 32 nursing rooms will be converted into 24 two- and three-room apartments.

"It is ambitious and we need to roll up our sleeves. But our intention is to start early next year." According to Timmerman, the nursing rooms are 'outdated'. "The rooms are small at 16 square meters and residents of multiple rooms have to share their sanitary facilities." Technically, that was still a bit of a problem.

"These rooms are on the first and second floors, between the ground floor and the third floor. We had to take a good look at whether the renovation was technically feasible, and also financially. Now that both questions have been answered with yes, we can get started." The rooms are all still occupied. This means that the residents have to be temporarily housed elsewhere during the renovation. IJsselheem will take care of that.

Source: De Stentor newspaper, 14-11-2024

 

Wetland Wonen installs solar panels on 2,000 rental properties

Wetland Wonen will install solar panels on almost 2,000 of its homes free of charge in 2 years. This concerns all single-family homes where it is technically possible to install solar panels. This will save our tenants on energy costs and together we will reduce CO2 emissions. It is expected that all homes that qualify for this will be equipped with solar panels by May 2025.

 

Installing solar panels

Living comfortably is incredibly important to us. That is why we asked our tenants in 2022 what they needed in the coming years to actually be able to live comfortably. The number one priority was installing solar panels, so that our tenants can save on the ever-increasing energy costs. An important wish that we have turned into action together with our partner Ecorus. In November 2023, Ecorus immediately started installing solar panels on the first homes and that is going at a rapid pace!

At present, almost 1,000 homes have been successfully equipped with solar panels.

 

Save on your housing costs and CO2 emissions with solar panels

By installing solar panels, we achieve a number of important goals. Firstly, we save on the tenant's energy costs. In particular in 2022 and 2023, the energy bill was a major concern in society. In the meantime, energy prices have fallen again somewhat, but it remains a concern. Installing solar panels on our rental properties provides direct savings on the monthly housing costs of tenants. In addition, we provide significant CO2 savings with solar panels. And because the so-called 'landlord levy' for housing associations has been abolished, extra budget has been released in 2023. As a result, we can offer the solar panels completely free of charge to our tenants.

 

The challenges in the process

We also faced a number of challenges in the execution of the project. For example, when placing the panels, we had to take into account various rules within the Nature Act. This legislation includes rules on the permitted space on a roof where solar panels may be placed. We also applied for permits for protected cityscapes in a number of cores and we come across roofs that contain asbestos. In addition, we had to deal with network congestion.

This occurs when more electricity enters the electricity grid than the grid can handle. This could occur if we were to connect all solar panels to the electricity grid.

Together with our energy supplier Enexis we have searched for a solution to this problem. Successfully! By means of adapted inverters the problem of grid congestion has been solved and our tenants can still benefit from solar energy.

 

The continuation of the installation of solar panels

In the coming months, solar panels will also be installed on the second part of the selected homes.

We expect that solar panels will be installed on all homes that currently qualify for this in the first quarter of 2025. We are currently investigating whether solar panels can also be installed on apartment complexes and homes with flat roofs in the future.

 

Information about the netting scheme

The new government plans to abolish the net metering scheme in 2027. It is not yet known what this means exactly. This means that nothing will change for our tenants at the moment. In addition, when this scheme is abolished, you will only pay extra money if you supply more electricity back than you consume. However, an average household consumes more electricity on an annual basis than the solar panels generate. If that is the case, you will not supply any electricity back. We are keeping a close eye on what this will mean for you in the future. As soon as more information is known, we will share it with you.

 

Source: www.wetlandwonen.nl

 

Wetland Living: Consultation hours in the neighborhood