Open letter: Preserve the Lutkemeer polder

This Wednesday, the Amsterdam City Council will meet to discuss building on the Lutkemeerpolder, our city's last organic farmland. Because we have no faith in the college's vision, we, young political Amsterdammers from DWARS Amsterdam, PINK! Noord-Holland and Jongeren Milieu Actief, the municipality of Amsterdam and the other shareholders of the Schiphol Area Development Company (SADC), namely Schiphol Group, the province of North Holland and the municipality of Haarlemmermeer to reconsider building on the Lutkemeerpolder.

The Lutkemeerpolder is a beautiful green area with historical value between Osdorp de Aker and Schiphol Airport. Twenty years ago, when many of us still had to take our first steps and climate change was not yet high on the political agenda, it was decided to establish a business park here. Within those 20 years, not only did we grow up, but the need for responsible environmental policies, and the role in this of local food production and agriculture, slowly took hold. The coalition also recognises this in the coalition agreement, where it says, for example, that urban agriculture will be promoted.

Multiple bodies, from political parties, to environmental and agricultural organisations, have already spoken out against further development in the Lutkemeerpolder. The argument that there is high demand for business parks near Schiphol is unfounded. Project developer SADC has been struggling for 15 years to fill up the adjacent Lutkemeer 1 business park. The norm that business activity on SADC plots must have a link to Schiphol was therefore abandoned earlier. After sand is thrown over the fields, this land will become nothing more than a speculation tool for foreign investors. Furthermore, SADC's argument that this will be a “circular” business park is laughable: after all, building on fertile land cannot, by definition, be circular.

Moreover, throwing its hands up in the air and arguing that this is an agreement made is strange, as the municipality has quite a lot of leverage. After all, the municipality is half shareholder in the landowner GEM and a quarter in the project developer SADC. SADC itself, nota bene, was set up by surrounding municipalities and the province to have a say in the use of this land and in turn owns the other half of the GEM's shares.

A lot has changed in the world in the last 20 years, and it seems to us that the arguments of those days still make sense with today's knowledge. So far, however, the discussion has been limited to the “when” and “where” of development. Instead, before the council turns this historic land into a lifeless sand valley, we want to see a study that clearly shows how much it will cost (or benefit) the town to preserve this land. Since the Lutkemeerpolder falls under Amsterdam, we consider it the role of our municipality to convene the other shareholders for this and the SADC to give the council the space to do so. Furthermore, we call for a long-term vision to be adopted during this study, fairly considering the enormous economic and ecological value of organic farmland, as well as the value of local biodiversity, landscaping and social function.