Discussion point in the public space – HCnieuws

July 7, 2024 at 12:10

Policy

Harlemmermeer Public space maintenance became a major point of discussion on Thursday evening during the council’s discussion of the spring memorandum. The discussion focused, among other things, on waste management, but also on the way maintenance is currently arranged.

A Haarlemmermeer resident put forward a proposal to combat the increase in litter. The party suggested collecting bulky and residual waste more frequently, and making it free to throw items at a recycling center, following the example of Amsterdam. Hans Spijker also indicated that he would like to see the financial burden of waste collection distributed better in this way. Opponents of the proposal responded to Spijker by saying that bad behavior would be rewarded in this way. The proposal did not receive sufficient support from the council.

The VVD started a discussion about the costs of maintaining public spaces. This costs around 80 million a year, or around 15 percent of the municipality’s total budget. However, Johan Ripp pointed out that the municipality has a lot of space, so a lot needs to be done for this space. Martin Boyles agreed, but pointed out that he was interested in the way maintenance is currently arranged.

“We all want more control, and we are looking for the best way to do that,” says Boyles. Eric Vermeulen (Forza!) believes it could make a difference if the overall scope of tasks were split up, with small businesses worrying about maintenance at each core, or perhaps even at a district level. Currently, the task has been given to a large company, which then involves the small businesses themselves. In the end, a proposal from the VVD was adopted for the audit office to conduct an investigation into the maintenance of public spaces, with the aim of determining the effectiveness of the current approach. The council is due to discuss this in the autumn.