On this page you can read all about the latest developments regarding Het Groene Veld.
New hope for het Groene Veld !
Developments around Het Groene Veld in the last month went at just as fast a pace as the growing blackberry in the surrounding periphery. Everything was related to the question of whether Het Groene Veld can continue to exist in its current form for a while and can be incorporated into the redevelopment of the area in the future.
On May 22, the Executive Board of the North district unexpectedly issued advice to the Municipal Executive. The core of this advice is to extend the end date of the agreement for Het Groene Veld by 1 year until October 1, 2025.
In the meantime, it will be investigated whether a long-desired Experimental Living Working Community (EWW) can be established on the western part of Het Groene Veld. A sigh of relief was heard on the site and around it.
We are happy and proud that the district has expressed the importance of our cultural and social activities and our concern for nature conservation. The district hereby recognizes the added value of this place and the experimental living-working community that has emerged here for Amsterdam North and for the city.
The joint efforts of the neighborhood, residents of the sludge fields and tenants of Het Groene Veld have certainly contributed to this hopeful advice.
In recent months, everyone has worked very hard to point out our unique place to city officials. Inspiring letters were written for the District Committee, there were representations for the Spatial Planning and Culture Committee and the consultations with all parties involved were overwhelming. That hard work now seems to be paying off. Parallel to this, our various programming of course continued happily.
But we are not cheering yet because last June 4 the advice was submitted to the Municipal Executive. It will ultimately have to decide whether the agreement with the municipality will indeed be extended. In addition, the Board will have to consider whether the city has sufficient interest in a permanent EWW in the city, also given the space pressure on the city.
No question for us, we are convinced that by preserving and further developing this unique part of Amsterdam we can also contribute to the challenges the city faces. We hear in the corridors that the council is taking the advice of the North District positively, but it is advisable to give a blow to the revised decision.
We are ready. Now it is up to our city administrators to speak.
Participation in the Municipality of Amsterdam
The agreement for this free cultural zone will end on October 1, 2024. Various residents and users will therefore express the importance of this place to the Amsterdam North district committee and the Spatial Planning Committee of the Municipality of Amsterdam.
Involvement by the Amsterdam North District Committee:
> 22 mei 2024 Inspraak door Hay Schoolmeesters (De VerADeMing) bij Stadsdeelcommissie Noord (VIMEO)
Letter from Neighborhood Interest Association JEN to R. v. Danzig and S. Mbarki
Participation in the Spatial Planning Committee of the Municipality of Amsterdam:
Participation in the Planning Committee for Finance, Art and Diversity of the Municipality of Amsterdam
Participation in the Spatial Planning Committee of the Municipality of Amsterdam:
> 10 april 2024 Inspraak Sara Calmeijer – Natuurspeelplek de Noordpool(PDF)
> 10 april 2024 Inspraak Elien van Riet- buurtbelangenvereniging (PDF)
Ingezonden brieven aan de Stadsdeelcommissie Amsterdam Noord
Letters sent to the Amsterdam North district committee regarding the executive board and committee members (Dutch):
> 22 mei 2024 door Hay Schoolmeesters – De VerADeMing (PDF)
> 6 mei 2024 door Titia Bloemhof (PDF)
> 6 mei 2024 door Giada La Gala (PDF)
> 22 april 2024 door Joost Ranzijn (PDF)
> 21 april 2024 door Stichting Malak (PDF)
> 8 april 2024 door Ed van Leeuwen (PDF)
> 25 maart 2024 door Ildiko Horvath (PDF)
> 11 maart 2024 door Houtonoom (PDF)
> 11 maart 2024 door Edith Verhulst (PDF)
> 13 januari 2024 door Jane Waltman (PDF)
> 28 januari 2024 door Aimée Phillips (PDF)
> 12 februari 2024 door Anouk van der Jagt (PDF)
> 26 februari door Circusbende (PDF)
Meer inspraakbrieven en nieuws in de media over Het Groene Veld:
Alternative Amsterdam Architecture Prize
April 26, 2024 – Newsflash Het Groene Veld:
> Het Groene Veld wins the first Alternative Amsterdam Architecture Prize – AAAP (PDF - Dutch)
Last night the festive presentation of the prestigious Amsterdam Architecture Prize, which has been organized by Arcam since 2008, took place from De Duif. (...) In addition to the Amsterdam Architecture Prize for new construction, the Arcam architecture institute also presented an alternative prize this year (...)
April 6, 2024 Presentation by Takland, Het Groene Veld and De Weesperknip for the ∀AAP (Alternative Amsterdam Architecture Prize) 2024
Het Groene Veld: permanently in Amsterdam?
Another 6 months and the curtain will fall for Het Groene Veld and the residents of the Slibvelden: the agreement with the Municipality of Amsterdam expires on September 30. The situation is becoming more dire by the day.
Will there still be room in the city for experimentation, with ample room for the unknown, less cultivated, wilder and adventurous? Will there still be room for free thinkers, artists and creatives and socially relevant programs?
Strong consultation with the municipality of Amsterdam about the future layout of the entire site is crucial to arrive at a plan with sufficient space for the sixty residents of the Slibvelden. It is precisely these residents who have opened up the area in recent years and turned it into a welcome, green and lively oasis from the rapidly petrifying city. Lively, because these residents also laid the foundation for a varied cultural and social programming.
In collaboration with local residents , Het Groene Veld, with around 3000 visitors per month, is an indispensable versatile and free cultural place in Amsterdam. A place where things are a little different, everything in a pleasant contrast to the regulatory pressure in daily life.
We try to remain optimistic about the future and we see that the municipality appreciates our project and its significance for the city. That is why we continue to talk. The municipality is - not surprisingly - faced with a lack of space. According to her, Het Groene Veld must also offer a solution for other urban needs, such as energy supplies and sports. It is now clear that Het Groene Veld does not have enough space to realize all the wishes of the municipality, including the Groene Velders and the Slibvelders, in a manner that is acceptable and sustainable to everyone.
We are currently looking for alternatives to resolve this stalemate, together with the municipality and all parties involved At the same time, we are very concerned about the possibility that the residents of the Sludge Fields will soon lose out. That would not only be disastrous for the programming and management of Het Groene Veld, but also for the social security of the sixty residents. There is no alternative for them.
Therefore it has been a problem for Het Groene Veld for some time now. On the one hand, there is the daily offering of varied, surprising programs that people work on with heart and soul. On the other hand, there is the hot breath on the neck of all residents and users that makes them realize that an uncertain future is getting closer every day.
The talks that will be held in the coming weeks will determine the future of Het Groene Veld, the Slibvelders, the neighborhood and the city.
We are grateful for the expressions of support we receive every day. We will keep you informed of further developments.
Touria and Barbera visiting Het Groene Veld.
Date 02-02-2024
Councilor Touria Meliani and the Director General of the Ministry of Culture and Education Barbera Wolfensberger visited Het Groene Veld.
On February 2, we received Touria Meliani and Barbera Wolfensberger for a working visit to Het Groene Veld. Of course we were very honored. Together with local residents and the makers of Het Groene Veld, we took them on a magical theatrical tour across the grass, between the buildings and straight through the forest and garden.
The Groene Veld fanfare brought them to the Social Center. The welcoming words of local resident Gaston and Groene Velder Hay clearly explained what an enormous achievement has been achieved at Het Groene Veld in such a short time and how it has grown into an indispensable cultural and social link in Amsterdam with more than 2500 visitors per month. And that it would be terrible for the neighborhood and city if this all had to disappear again on October 1, so we showed why.
Seated in an electric train, enormous soap bubbles came towards us,everywhere we saw friendly flames crackling in the open-air stoves and we stopped for a moment at the steps of the Youth Center, where poet Charley Ranzijn recited a poem about the importance of freedom in the city . Fatima had already mentioned the coaching and empowerment work she does with the Malak Foundation, and Richard and Nienke explained how you can create a real wood, steel and 3D printing workshop at Het Groene Veld with virtually nothing.
While acrobats from Bencha theater and Flying Artwork descended from the 15m high Silo and performed a vertical wall dance and more than 20 fire jugglers juggled on the plain, we walked into Earthworks. Barbera and Touria heard how young reggea and dub musicians can enter the beautifully equipped studio in the morning for rehearsals, move on to the recording studio in the afternoon and walk out at the end of the day with a few freshly pressed vinyl records .
Fast forward to the North Pole, the first children's sanctuary in Amsterdam in the middle of the forest. Erica and Sara spoke about the new series of children's projects, as a follow-up to the previous successful series entitled In your Element, where children could explore the different elements of water, earth, fire, air and magic in nature. Our tour guide Berber led us through the permaculture gardens to the eatery and the event hall. The chefs Bryan, Thomas and Elly were already busy preparing the vegan 3-course menu for that evening and we smelled wonderful smells.
A official portrait with the spouting fountain bird in the background still had to be taken and then it was time for a final summary of our visitors. They indicated that they had no idea in advance of what awaited them. Without hesitation, they admittede that they were completely impressed by the diversity of activities and people at Het Groene Veld. They also emphasized the importance of these types of places in today's city!
It certainly won't be their fault if the place unexpectedly has to be closed down. Finally, we presented them with a box with paraphernalia, products and trinkets from Het Groene Veld and its makers and we went home happy knowing that we have good new supporters with Touria and Barbera.
An uncertain future for Het Groene Veld
Date: 31-10-2023
Het Groene Veld has become a special place that many residents of the North and people from Amsterdam have discovered in the past year. It's a 7-hectare green area just outside the city ring near Buikslotermeerplein. Local residents and the ADM Community have quickly turned it into a beautiful, vibrant meeting place. Hundreds of cultural day and night events have already taken place, and dozens of community projects by local residents, proactive Amsterdammers, or organizations have given a diverse and inclusive character to this lively place.
However, the agreement for this free cultural zone and the stay of the ADM community is set to end on October 1, 2024. Luckily, discussions with the municipality on the possibilities of continuation are in progress.
But the municipality is planning a redevelopment of the area in which the local community is unfortunately not sufficiently involved, and there is currently no provision for the ADM community. The plan includes a Vattenfall district heating plant, a land claim by TenneT, and the construction of a rugby field. This would stifle a vital local initiative and result in the loss of not only 40,000 square meters of nature but also the presence and cultural programming of the ADM Community.
With enthusiasm, the local community presented a neighborhood vision to the district council earlier this year, which we fully support. In this vision, we offer constructive alternatives to the municipal plans. There has been some movement within the municipality, but a solution still seems distant.
That's why we will soon initiate actions to sustain Het Groene Veld as a flourishing fringe area within the framework of the Expedition Free Space, serving both the city and the countryside sustainably. More news will follow.
Stay tuned for developments and the program; we will need your support!
