Because of all the information that Van Engelen collected, he and his fellow citizens have been able to stop a new sand extraction project near their own village Dreumel for the time being. “Full transparency is very important for these types of projects. As a municipality, you have to know exactly what is going to happen and set strict requirements for it. Once the contract has been signed, you can’t go back.” According to him, these kinds of projects are all marketed with terms such as ‘opportunities for nature’ and ‘sustainable nature development’, but in the end it is just about ‘hard marbles’. And if a lot of money is involved, the interests are great, he says. “Local residents, politicians and other stakeholders were entertained here with beautiful stories, but you have to remain very critical.”
Plans for large-scale sand extraction near Wijk are sensitive: ‘It feels like David against Goliath’
