Overview
- Starting Wednesday, the province will issue nature permits under strict conditions for applications that demonstrate a substantial net reduction in nitrogen, with a cited benchmark of 35% or more.
- Deputy Arno Bonte and deputy Mariëtte van Leeuwen describe the policy as pioneering and acknowledge there is no guarantee it will withstand a court challenge.
- As a showcase case, the province plans to permit replacing a gas‑fired dune hotel with a wellness center and 145 electric apartments, which it estimates would cut local nitrogen deposition by 77%.
- The policy sits within the SANE program, which also proposes a 250‑meter nitrogen zone around sensitive parts of the Nieuwkoopse Plassen that could affect roughly thirty nearby farms.
- A hearing is scheduled for Friday, Provincial States will debate the plans on 26 November, and final decisions could follow on 10 December or 28 January after a yearlong freeze triggered by court rulings curtailing internal offsetting and demanding rapid reductions.