Our main goals
Housing
There is not enough affordable housing for young people and other starters on the housing market and not enough suitable housing for the elderly. GroenLinks believes that everyone should be able to live well and affordably, or that this should be achievable within one year. That is why we want to realise as many new homes as possible: by developing high-density housing, building so-called flex houses and temporary emergency housing, by encouraging initiatives for alternative forms of housing and by making more use of vacant offices. However, new housing construction should not be at the expense of urban green or other facilities that keep the neighborhood liveable and enjoyable.
We want new construction to consist of at least 40% social housing, as in recent years too much expensive housing has been built in the belief that this would free up cheaper homes. We will also provide more suitable housing for the elderly.
We will make agreements with housing associations about moderating raises in rent. Also, associations may only sell social rental housing if this does not lead to a reduction in the overall availability of affordable rental housing.
We are introducing a self-occupancy requirement. First-degree family counts as “self”. And we are replacing starter loans with a so-called 'buy-guarantee' (Koopgarant) with which new owners can buy with a discount and a buy-back guarantee in which surplus value is shared. This ensures that housing prices are not driven up further.
Existing regular housing will not become student housing, but we will ensure sufficient student housing, especially with shared facilities, on TU Delft terrain and in Schieoevers.
A green living environment for everyone
A green living environment is essential. Not only because it is more pleasant to live in, but also because it is better for the climate, people feel happier and there is more space for animals in the city. We aim to protect the greenery in and around Delft by choosing to be a 'compact city' with a lot of greenery and with green areas around the city that are easily accessible.
Delft has started up the campaign 'Delft becomes Green' as well as the so-called Climate Buddy, a municipal initiative together with nature centre The Papaver to inform and help residents with making their homes and gardens more resistant to climate change. With these two initiatives, Delft is working hard to become a greener city with more biodiversity. New regulations now also ensure that construction and development are done in such a way that nature also benefits. Delft was the first municipality in the region with a climate adaptation strategy, and new inventions are being tested at the Green Village to make the city more climate-adaptive.
GroenLinks believes it is important that we invest substantially in the further greening of the city together with the residents. Because although Delft is on the right track, much still needs to be done to keep our city liveable for both humans and animals in the future. In these times of corona it has become even more evident that the design of our immediate environment is of great importance for our well-being and health.
Our city has a lot of expertise and huge engagement of volunteers to be able to make real work of greening the city; the municipality should make more use of this. That is why, with the help of neighbourhood budgets, we want to make the streets and neighbourhoods greener together with residents. We are introducing a “green standard” per neighbourhood, which will also determine the building areas. We want to create a city park around the city centre and the Spoorzone needs to become much greener. We want everyone to be able to walk or cycle from home to the city through greenery and green areas.
Energy
To limit the impact of climate change, we want to make all homes in Delft more sustainable as soon as possible. We do this by encouraging homeowners and housing associations to insulate their homes. We want to accelerate the energy transition (i.e. the transition to clean energy), but above all this has to be made affordable for everyone. We encourage and support local initiatives that are committed to this. We are declaring a climate emergency, and will draw up a climate action plan together with residents, business owners and organisations.
In the last term, GroenLinks was one of the main drivers behind the construction of a regional heat network. We have also looked at how we can generate our heat and energy on the regional level. And we have drawn up an Energy Transition and Zoning Plan for the entire city. In the coming period we will develop and translate this municipal plan to the neighbourhood level. We will actively involve residents in this through for example home visits and neighbourhood meetings. Especially with the TU Delft in our city, we have a unique opportunity to be a frontrunner in this area.
Together with concerned parties in the city, we are encouraging insulating and decreasing energy consumption. We are also making agreements with housing associations to make their social housing more sustainable. And we encourage Delft residents to generate their own solar energy. Because every Delft resident is actively involved in finding solutions, we will be able to make Delft a sustainable city together.
Poverty
A growing group of Delft residents cannot make ends meet on their income and end up in debt. GroenLinks finds this unacceptable. That is why we want to identify payment arrears early on so further problems are prevented. We also want to increase current support facilities and opportunities for debt cancellation. We are expanding the so-called Special Assistance (Bijzondere Bijstand), which is a social welfare benefit for extra high costs, as well as the possibility of remission of municipal taxes. We believe that investing in the alleviation of poverty saves costs, and ultimately the benefits outweigh the costs!
The manner in which people on social welfare benefits are approached should be based on trust in the individual, and on the spirit rather than the letter of the law. We allow people on welfare to earn earn some extra income and keep modest gifts, and we only pursue intentional fraud.
We want to start experimenting with a universal basic income in Delft as soon as national regulations permit this.
We help people on welfare to find work, and if paid work does not seem feasible or not yet feasible, it can also be unpaid. Where appropriate, the municipality encourages volunteer work and informal caregivers. Delft residents on the lowest incomes should also be spared as much as possible from cutbacks.
We ensure that all important facilities for children are accessible to all children, even when there is not enough money in the household.
