Municipal council unanimously approves Burgum-West plans

On Wednesday evening, April 16, the municipal council of Tytsjerksteradiel approved the 'Mienskipskaart' (Community Map) as the vision for the development of the Burgum-West area. The municipal council is enthusiastic about the plans, which were drawn up in collaboration with the community according to the 'Nieuwe Route' (New Route) approach. The initiatives on the Community Map meet the frameworks previously established by the municipal council. With this, the vision development phase for the area is completed.

A plan supported by the Community (Mienskip)

Everyone who feels involved in the Burgum-West area was given the opportunity to contribute ideas to a plan for the area. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen has thus embarked on a new path to involve residents in the design of a municipal area. The Mienskipskaart is the result of this intensive participation process, which has resulted in a plan that is supported by the community. The plan includes a hotel with, among other things, a planetarium and location for an open-air theater, a dog school, a food garden, ecological agriculture and a green Sluiterspoel. All these initiatives fit within the frameworks previously established by the municipal council.

From vision to environmental plan

For the municipality, this means that they will further develop the vision and prepare it for the environmental plan together with the working groups. The working groups are in charge of developing their own initiatives. "The community and in particular the participants of the working groups have invested a lot of time and energy in their ideas," says Alderman Berber van Zandbergen. "It is important to maintain this energy during the elaboration."

The New Route

In February 2023, the municipality started a participation process for Burgum-West using the 'De Nieuwe Route' (The New Route) method. This was done as a pilot project in relation to the Environment Act, with the aim of letting the community itself decide what the future of Burgum-West should look like. 

The city council provided frameworks in advance for drawing up the area vision for Burgum-West. Within these frameworks, society was given the space to give its own interpretation to the vision, according to the De Nieuwe Route method. This was the first time for the municipality that an area vision was created in this way.