“Good morning”, Pieter Spijkerman laughs when he opens the door of his caravan this morning. He has been sleeping in the parking lot of the town hall for eight nights already. “It is known that there is a list of 26 candidates here in Raalte. They all want to get a spot for a caravan site.”
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‘We just want a concrete promise on paper’
In the municipality of Raalte there are currently a total of 28 places where caravans are allowed to stand. “According to our count there are 24”, says Spijkerman. “I don’t think a ‘camp’ falls under the caravan. There are just four houses on it, they are no longer pitches.”
In the past week there have been several talks between the activists and the municipality, but this has not led to a concrete solution. “We just want a concrete promise on paper,” says Spijkerman. “Black on white.”
Spijkerman himself lives in a rented house in Raalte, until he gets a place to work. But such a house is not really for him, he says. “I was born and raised in a caravan. Living in a house is very different from living in a caravan. We are used to that freedom, we are friendly with very good friends and family. That is very different from living in a terraced house. “
‘We just don’t have enough places’
Responsible alderman Wout Wagenmans acknowledges that Raalte has a shortage of caravan sites and says he understands that people have taken action. “Yes, I understand. People are looking for a permanent place somewhere in a trailer park, close to their family.”
“We simply don’t have enough places. We have agreed, we have been talking to them for a number of years, to see whether places can be set up in new housing estates. But that does take time.”
“Fortunately, the people who are now standing in the parking lot here have a roof over their heads. But they just want to be with their family and they have already stated that a number of times,” says Wagenmans. “We also understand that.”
‘We can last a very long time’
How long Spijkerman and his associates will remain in the parking lot of the town hall? “We can last for a very long time. As you can see, we are all just in a caravan. That is our culture, we are used to it. We will see who has the longest breath.”
