By John Smith •
Published: 29 Nov 2024 • 12:15
• 1 minute read
Back in August 2023, a court ruling indicated that there were very stringent rules concerning bat and bird boxes associated with new build properties in The Netherlands.
Indeed as well as external boxes it was suggested that there was a need to check wall cavities to see if bats exist in buildings prior to adding any wall insulation.
Housing Minister favours humans rather than bats as far as new build properties are concerned
Things have moved along at least in one area since then and housing minister Mona Keijzer has announced that there will be no legal requirement for developers to install nesting boxes or insect hotels in all new homes.
She argues that such a requirement would be over and above existing European Union requirements and therefore would be an added onerous requirement especially when new builds are needed due to existing very high rents in certain parts of the country.
The environmentalist argument is that birds such as sparrows and swifts as well as bats are being seen less regularly is because new building methods preclude them from nesting under rood tiles or cavity walls.
On the other hand, the construction industry is very much in favour of Minister Keijzer’s plan as they believe that it will encourage more building.
Netherlands government has made it clear that it won t introduce rules which are harsher than those mandated by the European Union
The matter still needs to be voted on in parliament but the current government has made it clear that it is not minded to introduce more demanding rules for construction than those already required by the EU.
Time will tell whether the decision to favour homes for humans rather than homes for birds is the correct one, especially as the house sparrow is now considered to be on the red list of endangered species in The Netherlands.
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Married to Ophelia in Gibraltar in 1978, John has spent much of his life travelling on security print and minting business and visited every continent except Antarctica.
Having retired several years ago, the couple moved to their house in Estepona and John became a regular news writer for the EWN Media Group taking particular interest in Finance, Gibraltar and Costa del Sol Social Scene.
Currently he is acting as Editorial Consultant for the paper helping to shape its future development.
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