Comments on the minutes of the residents’ meeting on November 29, 2023

View of the Municipality of West Maas en Waal

General review

The meeting on November 29, 2023, was constructive and open, yet at the same time confrontational and emotionally charged. There was extensive discussion of perceptions regarding—and the actual role of—the village platform, the impact of the lack of housing construction, and how this has affected relationships among residents.

As a municipality, we find it genuinely concerning and saddening that divisions and a lack of communication have arisen among people within the village. We are also critical of our own role in this regard. We recognize that, in the past, we should have handled things differently or better in terms of communication, visibility, and participation. We have also asked too much of the village platform in this regard. For example, within the Village Passport initiative. This has unintentionally led residents to believe that the village platform shares responsibility for or influences the decisions made in and for Altforst. This is despite the fact that it “merely” plays a facilitating and connecting role within the village.

The municipal executive, through Alderman , has offered its apologies for this. It was agreed that, in the event of major (spatial) developments in the village, the municipality will assume and maintain responsibility for communication and public participation, while the village platform will focus on promoting, facilitating, and connecting activities in Altforst.

Response to the report

The report generally provides an accurate account of the conversation. However, there are a few points that, in our view, require clarification, a response, or further detail:

• General note: Readability can be improved by using shorter sentences. In addition, it is advisable to run a spell-check.
• Role of the Village Platform: Some passages are difficult to read. For example, the last paragraph on page 1. The first paragraph also needs to be clarified. The wording regarding who is responsible should be made clearer. In our opinion, the phrase “possible confusion” should be replaced with “assumed confusion.” The phrase “the state of affairs surrounding the Village Platform”; shouldn’t this be “Village Passport”?
• Village Deal: It has been suggested that the JVA and the carnival association are not sufficiently involved in the Village Deal. We partially agree with this assessment. After all, the JVA is one of the parties that co-signed the Village Deal. We acknowledge that the carnival association’s involvement could have been better. However, the carnival association has now been directly involved in the Village Deal for some time and is a valued member of the Village Deal project group.
• Additionally: During the meeting, the municipality indicated that residents with questions or concerns can contact the municipality (staff or administration) or Peter van Drielen of STeuN. It was also emphasized that it is important for residents to take advantage of this opportunity. The aim is to address any questions, concerns, or frustrations or to discuss them. The call is to make these kinds of issues open for discussion and not let them simmer in Altforst.