Dutch pesticide buffer rules stall construction of tens of thousands of homes
Rules requiring buffer zones between farmland and new housing projects are delaying the construction of tens of thousands of homes across the Netherlands, with municipalities warning that the restrictions are increasingly blocking development plans at the edges of cities and villages, NOS reports.
Dutch municipalities often apply a minimum distance of 50 meters between new homes and agricultural land because pesticides can pose health risks to nearby residents. The rule also affects plans for schools and health care facilities. The requirement is not set out in national law but stems from earlier court rulings. Municipalities are responsible for applying the rule themselves.
The Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten, or VNG, said it is in regular contact with 20 municipalities where housing construction is being hindered by the pesticide zones. The organization estimates that more than 40 municipalities nationwide are dealing with similar problems.
Municipalities and provinces told NOS Nieuwsuur that the issue is becoming a growing obstacle to the national goal of building 100,000 homes annually. The Interprovinciaal Overleg, a partnership of Dutch provinces, calculated that about one-third of planned housing projects in Drenthe and Limburg are affected by the restrictions.
Legal experts say the fixed 50-meter rule is not always justified because only a small portion of agricultural land is used for crops requiring intensive pesticide spraying.
Caren Schipperus, a lawyer specializing in project development, said some farmers are using the rule to challenge housing projects. “At flower cultivation or fruit-growing businesses, which use many pesticides, I can understand that very well,” Schipperus told NOS. “But in my practice, I also encounter livestock farmers with only grassland who do not want housing construction next to their plots.”
One livestock farmer, Gerrit, told NOS that he wants to keep open the possibility of selling his land to a farmer who may use pesticides in the future and therefore does not want to give up his spraying permit for housing development.
Municipalities say the restrictions are particularly problematic in areas where they want to add small housing expansions near existing communities.
Possible solutions include farmers surrendering or limiting their spraying permits, often in exchange for compensation, or developers redesigning projects to comply with the buffer zone, usually reducing the number of homes that can be built. In some cases, municipalities allow a smaller buffer if a hedge is placed between farmlands and new houses.
Municipalities and developers are now pushing for national legislation to establish a calculation method for buffer zones and to distinguish between more and less harmful forms of agriculture.
Researchers at Wageningen University & Research and the RIVM public health institute are studying the risks and possible new guidelines. The VNG said the results are expected in July.
According to legal experts, the research could also show that the current 50-meter guideline is insufficient in areas where pesticide-intensive cultivation takes place.