Opposition party GroenLinks-PvdA has called for houses to be built on unused land at Schiphol and Dutch regional airports as part of its solution for the housing shortage.

The left-wing alliance wants to cut the number of flights from the Netherlands’ main airport near Amsterdam, which has already been reduced from 500,000 a year to 478,000 last November.

Party leader Frans Timmermans told AD.nl said the move would reduce noise pollution and allow more land around the airport which is currently used for agriculture or business parks to be converted to suburban housing.

Housing has been named as the top priority for GL-PvdA in its manifesto for the upcoming general election, which will be published in full on Monday. The party is currently just behind Geert Wilders’ far-right PVV in the opinion polls on around 27 seats, equivalent to 18% of the vote.

GL-PvdA also wants regional airports such as Maastricht, which saw passenger numbers drop by 10% last year, and Rotterdam to give up more land for housebuilding.

The party’s leader in Rotterdam, Jeroen Postma, has called for Rotterdam The Hague Airport to be closed to make space for 10,000 new homes and a park.

“The airport [in Maastricht] is loss making, while at the same time we need space for nature and new housing,” Timmermans said. “In Rotterdam the region would also benefit if green space and houses were created instead of the airport.”

Infrastructure ready

Converting airfields to housing could be done quickly because much of the supporting infrastructure, such as sewage and electricity, is already in place, Timmermans argued.

He added GL-PvdA did not want to stop people flying, but pointed out: “There are alternatives an hour’s drive away if people want to go on holiday.”

The party also wants to tighten the rules on affordable housing, requiring at least 40% of homes in newbuild projects to be rented for a maximum of €900 a month and another 30% to be capped at €1,200 a month.

Alternatively, 70% of homes should be sold for a maximum price of €405,000, well below the average sale price of €495,000 reported by the estate agents’ organisation NVM.

GL-PvdA plans to release billions for housebuilding by phasing out mortgage tax relief and taxing landowners more heavily.

It also says municipalities should be allowed to decide for themselves whether to give settled refugees priority status for social housing, after the outgoing right-wing government vowed to ban the practice.