From Vacancy to Complexity, An Institutional Perspective on VABs in the Dutch Countryside
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2025-08-09
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nl
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This thesis examines how the approach to vacant agricultural buildings (VABs) in Alphen-Chaam is shaped and to what extent it connects with the Water and Soil Steering principle (WaBoS). VABs are former farm buildings that have lost their function. Their growing number causes spatial, social, and economic challenges but also offers opportunities for sustainable redevelopment.
The study applies the Policy Arrangement Approach (PAA), analyzing actors, rules, resources, and discourses through document analysis and semi-structured interviews with the municipality, province, waterboard, farmer organizations, and farmers. This revealed institutional dynamics and collaboration in practice.
Findings show fragmented cooperation and differing perspectives. The province and waterboard view VABs as part of wider transitions and stress ecological quality, while the municipality mainly takes a legal-planning angle, and farmers face uncertainty, complex rules, and limited prospects. Formal frameworks such as the Environmental Ordinance and demolition policy are often seen as inconsistent, while informal contacts strongly influence outcomes. Resources are unevenly distributed: municipalities lack capacity, the province is distant, the waterboard has knowledge but little authority, and farmers lack financial means.
WaBoS is supported provincially but scarcely embedded locally. Unclear roles, fragmented rules, and unequal resources limit effectiveness. Recommendations include stronger municipal capacity, early waterboard involvement, structural consultation, and clearer communication with initiators.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen