Lively and green around station and Afrikaweg

The pressure on the housing market in Zoetermeer is great and increasing rapidly. Some 700 homes per year are needed to meet the demand. Zoetermeer wants to build 10,000 homes over the next 10 to 15 years, and opportunities are being sought to expand this number over time to a total of 16,000 homes. We want to turn the area on either side of the Afrikaweg and around the Mandela Bridge into a new urban district, with an attractive mix of about 4,500 new homes and accompanying facilities and greenery.

Below you will find mainly information about administrative decision-making and participation. Entree also has its own website where we, together with the other landowners in Entree, present to you the new urban district. Here you can also sign up for the newsletter.

www.entreezoetermeer.nl

Model Entrance

Approach Entree under Environment Act - January 2024

The draft Entree Midden zoning plan that was available for review in 2022 needs to be supplemented and amended in some important areas. In June 2023, we indicated that we needed time to properly prepare the follow-up. Now we have reached the point where we know the follow-up.

Environment program and EIA

The development of Entree will be subject to the Environment Act as of Jan. 1, 2024. This means that we will not proceed with amending the draft zoning plan, but will create an environmental program. We explain this further below.

The ambitions from the Entrance Master Plan as adopted in 2019 remain valid. The elaboration of those ambitions does need to be recalibrated/updated in some parts. Due to the disappearance of part of the (market) need for offices, a reprogramming for the development of the Entrance area is necessary. This means that part of the intended m2 of offices will be replaced by another function, for example more housing. Adjustments in the design of public space and the city street Afrikaweg are also planned. A decision by the college and the city council is needed on these modified assumptions. We expect this decision in the third quarter of 2024.

Next, an environmental impact report (EIR) will be prepared. In this, we examine the expected effects of the plan on the environment. To this end, we assess for each subject whether the studies previously carried out for the EIR are adapted to the draft zoning plan or whether new research is necessary. Prior to drafting the EIR, a memorandum on the scope and detail level of the environmental impact report is drawn up. This memorandum will discuss the scope and method of preparation of the EIR and will also be made available for public inspection. This is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2024. Reactions to this memorandum will be taken into account in the preparation of the EIA.

The elaboration of the ambitions and conclusions of the EIA will be included in an environment program. This environment program contains all the frameworks and principles for the development of Entree. The content consists of:

  • Development vision;
  • Image Quality Plan;
  • Public Space (Preliminary Design);
  • Implementation Strategy.

After this, the development of Entree will take place in phases through the application of environmental permits for the various sites by the landowners.

What happens to the views?

Views have been submitted on the draft zoning plan. These will be included in the deliberations on the changes and additions to the plan. In concrete terms, this means that the environmental program will include an appendix with summarized and anonymized views and an answer to the views. If parts to which reactions have been submitted are adjusted, we will indicate this. In this way, the adjustments can be found in the environmental program.

Draft environmental program and EIA available for review

The responses to the views can be found and read before the environmental program is finally adopted. This is because a draft version of the environmental program is first made available for inspection. This means that everyone can react to the contents of the draft environmental program. Simultaneously with the draft environmental program, the draft EIR will also be made available for inspection. This is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2025.

On parts previous response to views

Meanwhile, the development of Entree continues. We may well be working on components that anticipate the adoption of the environment program in 2025. In that case, the principle applies that the views on the part in question will be assessed in advance in terms of content and involved in making considerations. An example is the preliminary design of public space. We expect to have this preliminary design ready by mid-2024. With this preliminary design, (parts of) the views on this will be answered.

In summary, key milestones are:

  • Second quarter 2024: make available for public inspection Notitie Reikwijdte en detailniveau for the EIA;
  • Third quarter 2024: adoption of modified principles;
  • Second quarter 2025: make available for public inspection draft environmental program and draft EIA.

Planning

A schedule for the various policy documents being prepared can be found in the agenda on the Entrance website.

entreezoetermeer.nl/agenda

Participation Entree Zoetermeer

Since the creation of the Entree vision in 2017, we have been working with the owners and people in the immediate vicinity of the Entree area and other interested parties from the city to develop Entree. We call this participation. For the most current schedule of participation, please refer to the agenda on entreezoetermeer.nl.

Participation Entree Zoetermeer

Vibrant city neighborhood

Living in Entree will be different from other places in Zoetermeer. The area will be more urban and higher in density, in which quality in both the home and the living environment is of great importance. Living or working in Entree means consciously choosing an urban environment.

Vibrant city neighborhood

Afrikaweg becomes city street

Afrikaweg is changing from a through traffic road into a pleasant city street where cars drive slower and where people, live, work, move and stay. The two sides of Afrikaweg will be connected and there will be room for liveliness on both sides of the street.

Afrikaweg becomes city street

Green and sustainability

In Entree, you live, work, exercise and relax in green surroundings. This is an important quality that distinguishes Entree from other urban areas. Green facades, green roofs and balconies or terraces with green decoration are good for water storage and to combat heat stress.

Green and sustainability

Mobility

Mobility needs are changing. More and more people are taking public transportation, walking or cycling. Our new city district will be fully equipped for this. With innovative forms of mobility, such as shared (electric) bicycles and cars.

Mobility

Station area

With the arrival of the new Entree urban district, the station area on the north (city) side of the Nelson Mandela Bridge will also get a new look. Preliminary designs for a plinth building with a station hall and for a bicycle bridge were presented in August 2022.

Station area

Questions about this project?

entree@zoetermeer.nl

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aerial photo of area Entrance