Half a million new homes planned

Friday 05 September 2008

At least half a million new homes are to be built in the Randstad – the urban region which includes Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht – by 2040, the government will announce on Friday.

The proposal is part of a vision for the future which the transport, environment and agriculture ministers have drawn up with the aim of making sure the region remains an attractive place to live and work.

Ton Hooijmaijers, head of planning affairs at Noord-Holland provincial council, told news agency ANP he was pleased that the state's 'multi-headed monster' had now decided to work together. 'This is a project of national importance,' he said.

The plan involves building some 200,000 of the new homes in high-rise flats within the boundaries of the major cities.

Green heart

And in order to make sure the country’s ‘green heart’ retains its rural character, large city parks will be created at the fringes of the cities. These must have the ‘allure’ of New York’s Central Park, sources say.

Four areas - the Deltapoort to the south of Rotterdam, Midden-Delflaan between Rotterdam and The Hague, the Waterland area north of Amsterdam and Valkenburg in the south of the country – have been chosen for the parks.

Dense residential developments outside the cities will largely be limited to Almere, Haarlemmermeer and the Zuidplaspolder.

The measures are also expected to include plans for new rail links and extra train services in an effort to improve accessibility.

© DutchNews.nl

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