Triodos Bank is looking for a new office and has its eye on the De Reehorst estate near Driebergen-Zeist train station. Stichting Milieuzorg Zeist e.o., among others, disagrees with the arrival of the new office on that site and has appealed to the Administrative Law Division against the zoning plan and the accompanying coordinated environmental permit. One of the grounds for appeal is that there is no current regional need for new office space (12,500 m²). Given the office discussion in the province of Utrecht, this is not a surprising and, at least at first glance, perhaps valid position. But the office building may come, the Administrative Law Division ruled today.
The dispute: what is the "region" of Triodos Bank's office?
One of the Foundation's arguments is that in determining the need for the new office space, the municipality assumed too small a region in the ladder test. According to the ruling, the Foundation questioned, among other things, why Triodos Bank, if it wants to be close to a public transport hub, does not locate near Utrecht Central Station. If the search radius is expanded, perhaps De Reehorst estate could be spared.
Delimitation of the region in new urban developments: the administrative law judge's test
It follows from the jurisprudence of the Administrative Law Division that the scale level appropriate to the need must be considered on a case-by-case basis, given the nature and scope of that development. That criterion is also provided in the summary ruling on the ladder of June 28, 2017, about which we wrote a blog earlier.
The explanatory memorandum (2017) accompanying the "new" ladder applicable as of July 1, 2017 also shows that the nature and size of the development determine the scope of the need assessment. That explanation further states that it is primarily up to the governing bodies to determine, based on the spatial catchment area of the new urban development, how extensively the research should be carried out, with which governing bodies and departments the consultation on the new urban development will be conducted, and over which area the substantiation of the need extends. According to the same explanation, this area may differ depending on the nature and size of the planned urban development in relation to the context.
Triodos Bank: a 'local' bank
Today's ruling by the Division provides a nice illustration of the application of the aforementioned criterion and, in my opinion, the "freedom" to which administrative bodies (and initiators) are entitled in doing so.
It has been argued in the proceedings that Triodos Bank has traditionally been located in the Zeist and Utrechtse Heuvelrug region. For example, the head office including data center is currently located in Zeist. In addition, the Zeist branch is Triodos Bank's only one in the Netherlands. The plan on the De Reehorst estate allows Triodos Bank to expand the business activities it conducts in Zeist at a distance of about 4 kilometers from it. It was further argued that Triodos Bank focuses its business operations on sustainable banking and that the ecological, social and cultural aspects of the De Reehorst location are important to it in this regard. By looking for a branch close to the existing branches, according to the bank, synergy benefits can also be achieved, for example with regard to security, ICT, management and maintenance. In addition, it is argued that the majority of employees live in the Utrecht-Amersfoort-Zeist region and more than a quarter live within cycling distance of the new branch. It is further argued that in order to encourage visitors and co-workers to travel to the office by public transport, for the municipality, or at least Triodos Bank, the immediate proximity of the site to a well-served train station, no more than a 300-meter walk away, is of great importance. Apparently, Triodos Bank also counts restoring a now dilapidated estate as part of its social responsibility.
The Division's opinion
The Administrative Law Division sees reason to lay down all these put forward aspects in its judgment and considers that in light of all these specific circumstances, the council, in the opinion of the Division, could reasonably take the position that the expansion of Triodos Bank, already established in the Zeist and Utrechtse Heuvelrug region, provided for in the plan, meets an actual regional need as referred to in Article 3.1.6, second paragraph, under a of the Bro (the ladder). That assessment also takes into account that within that limited region no alternative available location was found that could meet the aforementioned criteria.
Conclusion: 'kneading' a region yourself?
A bank is a bank, an office is an office and a location near a station is a location near the station, it could also be argued. And according to some, from its (same) social responsibility, Triodos Bank could also have looked a bit further into vacant properties outside the limited region. The latter, under all the specific circumstances put forward, thus appears unnecessary. This case and the ruling provide a good example of the freedom that is granted to administrative bodies/initiators in defining the region. A word of caution is in order here though, there will have to be a solid and well-substantiated story. Triodos Bank succeeded nicely in this.
Quickscan zoning plan
Do you want clarity on whether your building plan fits within the zoning plan? For a fixed price, our specialists will investigate the possibilities. Click here for more information about our Zoning Quickscan.
