Yesterday, the police removed GroenFront protesters who were occupying an ecohouse in Steenwijk, Overijssel. Monday, the court in Zwolle ruled that the ecohouse could be scheduled for demolition because the neighbours complained of its unsightly, unfinished look. And today, the house should be destroyed.

Why destroy the friendly ecohouse made of old wood and built by eco-frendly engineer Jan Husslage? Because the house was never finished on time and remains unfinished. The building permit expired. The Green party is red furious and trying to come up with a last-minute solution, like moving the house somewhere else.

Why wasn’t it built on time? Not much seems to be built on time (or even within budget) in the Netherlands. Biggers projects such as the high-speed train line (North-South), the Betuwe train line (East-West) and Amsterdam’s metro are all years away from being finished. Of course, they don’t get the wrecking ball, but the small fry do.

(Link and photo: blikopnieuws.nl, zwolle.nl)