“Removing a golf course in Perkpolder is a missed opportunity”

For the disappointed promoters, united within the ProPerkpolder Group, this golf course was one of the pillars on which the whole project is based.

Disappointment

The project aimed to give the region around Perkpolder a to reinforce After the disappearance of the ferry service in 2003. That impetus should be the golf course and that is disappearing, notes Arjan van Eekelen of the ProPerkpolder group with regret. “Building houses can be done anywhere; a golf course where you could admire the Scheldt made it special and attractive. It was already known in 2019 that the developer of the Waterzande project had to use clean and much more expensive land instead of industrial land – a prerequisite for the municipality of Hulst, explains Van Eekelen.

Through the sour apple

According to him, it is not true that the demolition of the golf course means “the beginning of the end”, as the “bad tongues” claim. “Sure, it’s a sour apple we have to get through, but we still believe in the plan for Perkpolder.”

It must be an “integral” plan, he believes. There must therefore be a good alternative to golf, which also has added value for entrepreneurs, schools, associations and residents of the region. The ProPerkpolder Group recommends consultation with the Business Club Perkpolder to ensure that the plan “generates the most economic and social benefits for which it was put in place”.

“We are not cranky”

Tom Willaert of Business Club Perkpolder also finds it very unfortunate that the golf course is not financially viable. “But we’re not cranky, we’re not in a sack. There are still opportunities and we have to use those opportunities.” Either way, there has to be something “making an impact” and it’s not just about Perkpolder. “Perkpolder is neither more nor less than a stepping stone for the whole region.” The Business Club likes to reflect with the developer on this subject.

The plan looks more user-friendly

Johan Everaert of the Walloorden village council is not unhappy with the new sketches presented to the inhabitants of the district. “It sounds a little more user-friendly. We’ve been working on this for so long now. Let them start as soon as possible.” To get to the beach and the ferry, motorists must go directly through the new “seaside village”. Concerns have already been raised about this. Everaert assumes that a solution will be found for the traffic flow and parking options in the new plan.

Bar Goed owner Yannick Mahu always views Perkpolder’s development with confidence. Whether the new buildable beach pavilion – the old one burned down in April – should move a bit west, remains a matter of discussion. He therefore refers to the developer for an answer.

Charles Heizler of the Schone Polder Foundation, who has undergone countless procedures: “I don’t like it at all. It’s a one-time plan, says the developer himself. He thinks many more will follow.

More hotel rooms and superior apartments

Wim van den Abbeele van Waterzande bv takes into account all comments and criticisms, including questions and concerns of Hulster advisers, in developing the final plan. They discuss the modified master plan during the Space Committee meeting. In addition to the disappeared golf course, other parts have been modified, making it necessary to draw up a new zoning plan. For example, housing is now grouped around the old ferry port, around 50 hotel rooms will be added, apartment buildings will be one storey higher, additional catering establishments will be added and the landscape will be added. surrounding area will be developed in a natural and agricultural way. .

One million cubic meters of clean soil

Van den Abbeele always assumes that the 85 first houses on Veerplein soon to be on sale will be completed in 2023 and that that year also one million cubic meters of clean soil will be delivered by boat to the new seaside village with four hundred other houses and apartments. The intention is that the purchase and development agreement with the landowner Perkpolder Beheer – with the sole shareholder the municipality of Hulst – will be signed by September 1 at the latest.

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