The municipality of Vlaardingen wants to build a new outdoor swimming pool after almost 30 years of absence. In combination with an indoor swimming pool and a new athletics track, this will meet the needs of the residents of Vlaardingen.

The municipality has carried out an integral location study, which shows that the most suitable location for this (re)development is the southern part of the Broekpolder, a nature and recreation area northwest of the city. This part of the area now includes sports fields that are due for renovation. A multidisciplinary variant study at location and area level examines the potential locations based on the sustainability elements of ‘people’ (including safety and accessibility), ‘planet’ (including impact on and integration into nature and landscape), and ‘profit’ (economic feasibility).

Under the lead of the urban planning firm PosadMaxwan, and following previous cooperation in Enschede, I assess the possible impact on flora and fauna of various development variants and I inventory the legal obligations in relation to the Environment Act. In addition, I provide ecological consulting for the integration of variants in landscape and ecology, in order to strengthen the natural values ​​as much as possible.