The municipality of Uithoorn demands that the inspection of noise pollution from Schiphol will enforce

The municipality of Uithoorn has submitted an enforcement request to the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) due to noise pollution from Schiphol Airport. The municipality announced this on its website. The mayor and aldermen write that they are "very concerned about the deteriorating quality of life in Uithoorn" and demand immediate action from the ILT.

For the past ten years, noise pollution in Uithoorn has exceeded the legal limit every year – with the exception of the coronavirus years, when there were far fewer flights. For ten years, the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) has not taken action against these exceedances; internal documents, released after an appeal to the Open Government Act (Woo), show that the inspectorate internally called this tolerance "legally vulnerable."

Last April, the Uithoorn municipal council had had enough. In a unanimous decision, the council instructed the mayor and aldermen to submit an enforcement request to the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT).

Back against the wall

Noise pollution in Uithoorn is related to the increasing air traffic on the Aalsmeerbaan runway. According to the municipality of Uithoorn, this runway, despite being located near a densely populated area, has accommodated most of Schiphol's growth. The municipal council calls the repeated exceedances of the permitted noise level at Schiphol "unacceptable."

"Over the past few years, we've drawn attention in various ways to the unacceptable and disproportionately growing nuisance in Uithoorn," says Uithoorn alderman for Schiphol Affairs Ferry Hoekstra. "This hasn't yet led to any action to reduce the nuisance. As a municipality, we're backed into a corner and see no other way out than to initiate this legal action."