Dutch Water Defence Lines

• upcoming projects, including the final option for the A8-A9 junction and the project of the housing development near Woudrichem
• protection of the landscape dimension to be strengthened

N/A

On 29 November 2022, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/759/documents/. On 15 March 2023, the State Party provided an update to the World Heritage Centre on the new planning act, which had been approved by the Dutch decision-making bodies. Progress on several conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions is presented in this report, as follows:

• Planning provisions are in place on a national and provincial level to protect and manage the World Heritage property and its buffer zone;
• The Environment and Planning Act will come into force on 1 January 2024. This act provides for the protection of World Heritage and gives a meaningful role to buffer zones in Dutch spatial planning;
• The legislative system provides for recourse to objection and appeal procedures against official decisions if they do not respect the interests of World Heritage;
• The landscape dimensions of the World Heritage property are embedded in area development plans established under the Spatial Planning (General Rules) Decree (Barro), some of which are being implemented. Green landscape structures are positioned as drivers for spatial quality, including in the plan for Laagraven (awaiting implementation);
• An assessment framework for solar and wind energy development is applied in spatial planning;
• There are no timelines for decision making or implementation of the A8-A9 project, which has entered a new design development phase. The State Party commits to keeping the World Heritage Centre informed of any new developments;
• Progress has been made in sensitive area analysis, based on the definition of the attributes of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) at both area and component level. A successful pilot project was extended to all components of the property. The outcomes of many of these studies are now embedded in provincial policies, including in the province of Utrecht;
• Projects are being implemented to increase awareness of the property and its OUV;
• The six reduction areas have been added to the property’s buffer zone and now form an integral part of the management procedures. They will be managed in future under the new Environment and Planning Act.

The State Party in its report provided an update on projects and developments that may affect the World Heritage property. The list includes the Zeilfort Kudelstaart project, for which a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) was undertaken and was subject to a Technical Review by ICOMOS, transmitted to the State Party in August 2022, as well as the Woudrichem housing development, for which the planning permission was annulled following an objection procedure by the Council of State. A new project that takes the OUV into account is currently being developed here.

Through press articles, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies learned about illegal landscape works at Fort bij Velsen that took place in 2021. The information was sent to the State Party on 17 July 2023, which replied on 27 July 2023 that at the time of inscription, the fort was only partially intact, but that a study was currently underway to determine how to improve the quality of the fort by repairing not only recent damage, but also that dating back to the 1980s. The State Party further stated that an integrated plan for the fort is currently being developed and should enable the fort to be re-established through careful planning and restoration.

The State Party reports encouraging progress in strengthening the protection and management of the property. The pending implementation of the Environment and Planning Act will bring an integrated approach to the management and protection of the OUV of World Heritage properties in the Netherlands. The progress made in the analysis of sensitive areas by defining the attributes both within the property and its spatial environment is highly welcome. The State Party should be commended for its efforts in this direction and for embedding the protection of these attributes into its planning systems and procedures. It would be advisable for these studies to be provided to the World Heritage Centre. The State Party’s commitment to implementing impact assessments as a planning tool is equally commendable.

Nevertheless, many conflicting planning challenges remain for this property. In 2017, ICOMOS advised the State Party to seek alternative options to the Golf Course and Heemskerk variants for the A8-A9 extension. A developed design and HIA for the A8-A9 project were reviewed by ICOMOS in 2022 and the resulting technical review was transmitted to the State Party in December 2022. The new proposal was based on the so-called Golf Course variant, planned in an open subterranean road. The project included several mitigation measures to strengthen the OUV of the property. However, ICOMOS concluded that the project would still have an unacceptable adverse impact on the OUV. Likewise, in its review of Fort bij Kudelstaart, ICOMOS, while noting that a continued use of the fort will support its conservation in future, considered that the proposed project would have a significant negative impact on this component and, consequently, on the OUV of the property. The project is currently being reassessed and the State Party is to be requested to send revised plans to the World Heritage Centre.

The negative recommendation of the Gooise Meeren Municipality regarding the Muiden Marina is indicative of a functioning conservation management system. The halting and annulling of the zoning plan for the Woudrichem housing project and the commitment to developing a project aligned with maintaining the attributes of the OUV are welcome.

The State Party has not reported on any renewable energy projects that may affect this property but has developed an assessment framework for incorporating solar and wind energy in spatial planning. Further details of this framework and possible projects should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies. Similarly, the World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies note that illegal landscape works, involving demolition of the embankments at Fort bij Velsen at the end of 2021 have been halted and that a study of possibilities for reconstruction and enhancement of the site is underway. The Committee may nevertheless wish to request that the integrated plan for the fort be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for possible review by the Advisory Bodies. Details of other projects such as, but not limited to, the new visitor centre at Loevestein Castle, the development in the area of Voordorpse Veld, housing development in the inundation zone of Werkendam and intervention plans for the reuse of built infrastructure, would be welcome as well.

The new Environment and Planning Act calls for a restructuring of the planning system in the Netherlands. A report on its implementation and effectiveness should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre along with the State Party’s next state of conservation report.