In March 2019, the municipality of Gorinchem organized a lecture about Tiny Houses during the Gorinchem Design Week. Alderman Ro Doesburg was positive about the concept, as were aspiring residents Hennie Rietveld and Petra Schröder. Two of the three success factors came together: an enthusiastic alderman and proactive initiators.
The third success factor soon came around the corner: Garage company owner Jan van den Bergh had attended a similar lecture in Geldermalsen a few months earlier and was very charmed by the sympathetic Tiny House philosophy. Coincidentally, he also had a piece of land behind his house where sheep grazed, but which could just as easily be used for a Tiny Housing project. Ro Doesburg brought the three together and the three of them decided to embark on an adventure.
Ten Tiny Houses in the meadow
Fast forward to three years later, and there are actually four Tiny Houses on Jan’s land. Two houses under construction are in the yard near the garage and there is a small structure that turns out to be the newly added children’s room of an existing Tiny House that will soon be coming over from Dordrecht. Residents are digging trenches for utilities and sewerage. It already looks like an idyllic place.
Petra Schröder has been living here since September 2020, she has received permission from the municipality to place and live in her Tiny House on the land. As a pilot, in anticipation of permission for a Tiny House housing project with ultimately ten houses for a period of ten years. That permission has been granted and six Tiny Houses have now been licensed with the seventh on the way. The pilot project will start with seven Tiny Houses and there will be an evaluation moment after two years. If successful, three more Tiny Houses may be added.
Three years from start to living
It still takes three years from the start of the initiative to a permit. The land has an agricultural purpose and the municipality has granted an exemption with an extensive procedure so that it can temporarily become a residential area. A nitrogen calculation had to be made to show that a temporary residential function would not place a greater burden on nature than the grazing sheep that used to be there, this was successful.
Before the project could start, the initiative also had to wait for the new housing vision of the municipality. The initiators are full of praise for the cooperation with the municipality: there is a ‘we do it together’ mentality.
Partly off grid
Petra lived alone and completely off-grid for two years on the piece of pasture on the Waaldijk in Dalem. She now has neighbors, but living alone has not been too hard for her either. Soon she will also have running water and sewerage, no electricity will be installed. All Tiny Houses in Klein Dalem are equipped with solar panels and battery packs and can provide themselves with energy. There may even be a back-up power point for the entire neighborhood, to be able to recharge during the winter when there is not enough sun. There will also be a shared building with a shared washing machine and freezer.
Principles for residents
Hennie and Petra carried out the recruitment and selection of their fellow residents themselves. Interested parties could write a letter of motivation, and if it was in line with the starting points of the initiative, the prospective residents were invited for an introduction. Those principles included that it should be a diverse group in terms of ages and backgrounds, and that the residents are open to undertaking joint activities. For example, there is a large strip of land of 1500 m2 that the group wants to use as a joint vegetable garden and orchard.
A Tiny House residential project on private land
Klein Dalem is one of the first Tiny House housing projects on private land in the Netherlands, so far these projects are usually located on municipal land and sometimes on the land of a housing association. It’s great that Jan has made his land available and has actively contributed to the realization of the pilot project. The fact that the municipality of Gorinchem cooperated so smoothly is of course also a blessing, if not a requirement.
But no project is completely without setbacks, and Dalem is no different. Two local residents do not agree with the location for the project and have lodged an objection against the environmental permit. The residents of the Tiny Houses already involved the local residents in their plans in 2019 and entered into discussions with the objectors. Two objections are currently pending. The Tiny House residents group naturally hopes for a positive outcome and will continue with their beautiful housing project in good spirits.
Thank you very much for letting us visit Hennie, Petra and all (future) residents of Klein Dalem! We would love to come back when you are a little further with your beautiful project and wish you a lot of fun together!
Photography: Marjolein Jonker, residents of Klein Dalem
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