Meeting Heerlerheide Center Oct. 8

During the meeting, various points were raised on the theme of 'green & green facilities'. 

What's going well? 

• Green in the area: Residents indicate that the district is surrounded by a lot of nature, such as the Brunssumerheide and the Koumenberg. The district itself is also green ("There is enough green in the district and in the area").
• Local green initiatives: Residents are happy with small green initiatives, such as the "planters in the Wannerstraat," set up by Primera and residents. The "flower boxes around lampposts" are also appreciated.
• Good balance between housing and greenery: Residents are satisfied with the balance between new construction plans and the preservation of greenery (“The right balance between housing and greenery”).

What could be improved? 

• Poor maintenance: Residents indicate that the maintenance of the greenery could be better ("Green areas are in poor condition."). It is also unclear who is responsible for the greenery ("We are being passed from pillar to post between Weller and the municipality"). In addition, there is more vandalism. More supervision could help.
• Central green: There is a lot of fragmented greenery in the district, but residents also indicate that they want more centrally located green spaces, for example in the center.
• Play and meeting places: There is a demand for more and better play areas (especially for young children) ("We want more playgrounds where children can play safely"). For example, several residents are enthusiastic about using old squares for this purpose, such as "the vacant fields near the old church".
• More trees and benches: Residents also want more small amenities, such as extra trees and benches, for example at playgrounds and green lawns. This makes the neighborhood more attractive and inviting.
• No greenery that hinders traffic: Residents state that there should be no new green strips that further hinder traffic (for example because the view is obstructed).
• Greener gardens: Residents indicate that greening gardens (reducing paving) is also important.
• Accessibility of green areas: Green areas could be made more accessible, especially for people with disabilities (such as residents in wheelchairs).

What questions were asked to the municipality? 

Can the environmental plan take into account:

• better maintenance and supervision of green areas to prevent vandalism?

  The environmental plan cannot regulate the maintenance and supervision of greenery. Vandalism can be reported (via the reports page ). Supervision is done by the boa's and the police, but unfortunately we cannot limit the capacity of the environmental plan boa's and do not expand the police.

  The greenery is maintained according to the plan established by the municipal council. In the centre of Heerlerheide, maintenance is at the highest level (A), and outside the centre it is level B.

  If there is a report about green maintenance, this is forwarded to Werk voor Heerlen. They provide the solution and let the reporter know when it has been resolved. This usually takes 2 to 3 weeks. If the complaint is not about public green, but for example about green of a housing corporation or private individual, the reporter will also be notified about this.

• providing clarity about who is responsible for the management of green areas, so that residents are not sent from pillar to post?

  This cannot be arranged in the environmental plan. We are talking to various housing corporations to better coordinate maintenance. These discussions have just started.

• creating space for better play areas, especially for young children, and creating dog-free zones and placing benches at playgrounds and green areas?

  In the environmental plan we can make room for play areas and benches. The execution of these plans is done by other municipal departments or neighborhood initiatives. Some benches have been removed because of nuisance. At the 'Samen in de buurt' meeting on February 13th it will be explained how you can have a bench placed.

  The APV has rules for dogs. Dogs must be kept on a leash within built-up areas and there are dog-free zones, such as at playgrounds and sports fields. The environmental plan cannot ensure that dog owners adhere to these rules. The environmental plan makes room for meeting and playing areas in public spaces. Old squares can be renovated, but that depends on the municipality's maintenance plan. No renovation has yet been planned for this area.

• avoiding green strips that hinder traffic?

  The environmental plan cannot determine what type of greenery is planted. However, we do want a lot of greenery in the public space for the climate, health and biodiversity. When planting and maintaining greenery, traffic safety is always taken into account. For example, we pay attention to how high the plants grow and ensure that they do not block the view of the road. Greenery is regularly mowed and pruned. If there are specific unsafe situations, you can report them via the municipality's reporting page .

• encouraging the greening of gardens (reducing paving)?

  The environmental plan can help stimulate the greening of gardens. This is already happening, because residents can register for free plants and garden advice if they remove the paving from their garden. This can be done via the page of the page of Operation Steenbreek .

• better accessibility of green areas for people with disabilities (such as wheelchair users)?

  We can include this in the environmental plan, but at the moment we do not have a specific policy. However, the municipal council did adopt the Local Inclusion and Diversity Agenda on 30 October 2024. One of the points is improving the accessibility of public space. These requirements will be added to the Heerlen Public Space Manual. Once that is ready, we will see whether we should include it in the environmental plan.

  Problems you encounter can always be reported via the municipality's reporting system. Where necessary, we solve problems locally, and accessibility is taken into account in new work.

During the meeting, various wishes were mentioned regarding safety and quality of life.

What's going well? 

• Pleasant living: Residents experience Heerlerheide as a pleasant place to live.
• Compact shopping area: Residents indicate that it is nice to have a compact shopping area ("Keep the shopping area as compact as it is now").
• Good layout: Residents experience the layout of the neighborhood as positive.

What could be improved?

Road safety

• Residents indicate that speed-limiting measures are desirable in various places. This includes extra zebra crossings and traffic calming measures. The school environment and the larger streets are particularly mentioned ("We miss a zebra crossing at the Ganzeweide, especially for the school children", "Traffic safety on the Willem Barentszweg and the Stanleystraat is not good", "Better traffic flow and layout on the Passart")
• "Drive less fast on the Willem Barentszweg" and attention to the safety of mobility scooters and wheelchairs at entrances and exits.

Facilities

• Residents indicate that they need health facilities for the elderly, such as a health center with general practitioners, physiotherapists, speech therapy, dentist and orthodontist.
• There is a need for a facility from the municipality, such as a district shop ("certainly for the growing number of people over 65").
• The facilities should be easily accessible, also for the disabled.

Meeting places

• There is a need for more meeting places in the neighbourhood to strengthen social cohesion. An "accessible meeting place" for residents, certainly also "for young people between the ages of 12 and 16".

Nuisance and enforcement

• There is a nuisance caused by young people. "More enforcement is needed", including visible neighbourhood police officers (also in the evenings).
• Better enforcement of rules of conduct on public squares and more supervision of known hangouts for young people, such as the chip shop in Keekstraat.
• Better lighting in the streets to make it safer at night, and more litter bins to combat litter, especially on exhaust routes.

Safety in case of emergency

• Residents indicate that more attention should also be paid to water drainage and the protection of homes in the event of severe storms.

What questions were asked to the municipality? 

Can the environmental plan take into account: 

• traffic safety, for example by constructing additional zebra crossings (for example at the bus stops at the Ganzeweide, around Basisschool Mijn Spoor, crossing from TerEijk to Plus), to improve safety?

  We do not regulate traffic safety in the environmental plan. This is regulated by traffic decisions. We note that the Ganzeweide at the centre has just been redesigned. We have explicitly included the voice of residents in this. Furthermore, a number of speed-reducing measures will be taken on Groët Genhei in the first half of 2025.

• more speed-limiting measures, such as traffic calming measures, on busy roads such as Willem Barentszweg and Stanleystraat?

  This is not regulated in the environmental plan, but by adjustments to the road. Where possible and feasible, this will be included in the next adjustments to the road.

  As for the Willem Barentzweg, the first preparations have been started to improve safety for cyclists. In the course of 2025, local residents will be involved in the plans. This road will become a 30 km road in the future. The layout of the road will be adjusted accordingly. There are no other concrete plans for adjustments to these busy roads.

• creating a (residential) facility with extra Health - and health services for the elderly, including a health centre and a branch of the city office?

  The environmental plan can include residential facilities Health - and health services, but we cannot guarantee that such initiatives will actually come about. The residential care policy is currently being worked on. This policy examines what is needed to create good residential care facilities in the city. As soon as the policy is ready, it will be included in the environmental plan.

  In the past, there were outbuildings of the city office in the neighborhoods, but that was an expensive solution and was underused.

• adding more facilities and meeting places specifically for the elderly and young people.

  See question 3.

• more visible enforcement, such as neighbourhood police officers, (especially in the evenings). Stricter enforcement of codes of conduct (illegal waste dumping) and supervision of public squares and well-known hangouts, such as the chip shop at Keekstraat?

  We cannot arrange this in the environmental plan. This will be discussed at the promised 'Together in the neighborhood' meeting that will take place in February.

• placing extra benches along walking routes, such as the Rennemigstraat and at popular walking areas?

  The environmental plan allows this. A request can be submitted via the notifications page or via the page about neighborhood initiatives . Delivering and placing a new bench including maintenance costs a lot of money. When requesting an extra bench, we first look at where and how many benches are present along a route. By moving an existing bench (after consultation), an extra bench is often not necessary. In addition, we also look at whether a bench at a certain location causes inconvenience to residents.

• improved street lighting and more trash bins to make streets safer and cleaner, especially on exhaust routes?

  The environmental plan allows for the placement of street lighting and trash bins, but it does not specify where or how many exactly. In Rennemig, the lighting is now being replaced by new lamps. Do you have complaints about the lighting? If so, please indicate where the problem is, and we will look into it.

  Adding more bins is not always the solution, because people often put their own waste in them. More bins usually do not lead to less litter, which is often due to bad behavior. Bins can be moved. We are happy to help you think about suitable locations. Report it via the reports page or call 14 045. During the 'Together in the neighborhood' evening we will provide more information about the choices for street lighting.

• attention to water drainage and better protection of homes against damage during severe weather?

  There are rules for rainwater drainage in new buildings, so that there is less water nuisance. In public spaces, measures are sometimes taken to collect rainwater. If you have water nuisance, you can report this online via the reports page . We will then see if anything needs to be done. Residents can also take measures themselves, such as placing bulkheads or sandbags. You can also collect rainwater in the garden or in a rain barrel, so that the sewer has to process less water.

  In Heerlerheide there are currently no plans to better protect the public space against flooding. If we redesign an area, we ensure that rainwater can soak into the ground as well as possible. This prevents flooding. 

• the accessibility of residential facilities and the safety of entrances and exits for, for example, mobility scooters and wheelchair users?

  See also the answer to question 7 – green.

  We can include this in the environmental plan in the future, but there is no policy for that yet. When designing public space and during work, we do take accessibility into account, for example for mobility scooters and wheelchair users.

During the meeting, various wishes were mentioned regarding the theme of Housing.

What's going well?

• There is enough affordable housing (social housing).
• The current available housing is (compared to other cities) affordable
• There are plenty of free parking spaces.

What could be improved? 

Living places for the elderly

• There is a need for more transitional housing and life-proof housing for seniors, so that detached houses become available.
• "Living and Health for the elderly" could be better integrated.

Diversity in housing supply

• There is a need for new housing supply that is in line with the findings from the NPHLN study (National Program Heerlen-Noord).
• More attention to a "healthy mix of residents", with attention to single-person households, families, social housing and purchase, and different income groups and ages.
• There is a need for municipal measures to prevent investors from buying up homes, so that homes remain affordable for households with lower incomes.
• There is a need to add senior citizens' courtyards and flats for the over-50s.

Sustainability

• Residents indicate that making social housing more sustainable is important to make it future-proof and energy-efficient.

Existing real estate

• Protection of monumental buildings is important.
• The demolition of real estate (such as the flats in the Wieër) raises questions: what will come in return?

What questions were asked to the municipality?

Can the environmental plan take into account:

• the development of more flow-through and life-proof housing for seniors, so that detached houses become available?

  When adjusting the environmental plan, we will look at which homes are still missing in Heerlerheide Centrum. We will investigate whether we can create rules so that new homes better match demand. This can improve the flow in the long term. But even if we make this possible, it does not mean that it will happen automatically. Residents decide for themselves whether they want to move.

• a better integration of "living and Health for the elderly"?

  The municipality of Heerlen is working on a plan for housing and Health Depending on the results, we will see whether we need to adjust the environmental plan.

• attention to a "healthy mix of residents," including single-person and family homes, social rental and purchase, and diverse income groups?

  See answer 1 – living.

  The municipality also wants a good mix of residents, with different types of housing and income groups. When making the environmental plan, we look at how we can stimulate this, but we also take the current situation into account.

• attention to the affordability of housing for lower-income households (possibly by discouraging investors from buying up homes)?

  See answer to question 1 - housing.

  In December 2023, the municipal council approved plans to improve the quality and affordability of housing. Some rules will be included in the environmental plan. The environmental plan states that homes may not simply be split up or converted into rooms for rental. Investors must comply with this. This makes buying less attractive, which means that these homes will more often remain available as affordable owner-occupied homes.

  The municipal council has established the following rules:

  • Rental regulation: Rules for good landlordism. Renting out small homes to migrant workers is only permitted with a permit.
  • Housing Regulation: Rules for the distribution of scarce housing. For some rental properties a permit is required, with priority given to people with a connection to Heerlen and to certain professions. Also, owner-occupied homes up to €300,000 may not simply be bought up for rental.
  • Target Group Regulation: Certain homes will remain available for people with a lower income, such as social housing, social purchase and mid-range rental housing.

  These measures help to keep housing affordable and prevent investors from buying up too many homes.

• attention to the sustainability of social housing to make it future-proof and energy-efficient?

  The sustainability of social housing does not fall under the environmental plan. Housing corporations are responsible for this. The municipality makes agreements with them about this. In addition, the government has determined that corporation housing must have at least energy label B in 2028. This does not apply to homes that are demolished.

• the protection of monumental buildings?

  We are including a provision in the environmental plan to protect monuments.

• clarity about the demolition of apartments and what will come in return?

  There is still no clarity about the demolition of apartments and what will replace them. When drawing up the environmental plan, it will be examined whether it remains possible to build new homes there.