Wetterterp Towards a promising future A multidisciplinary feasibility study towards developing a cultural historical attraction in the Eeltjemeer area Commission Wetterwâlden Bûtenfjild Kenniswerkplaats/'Knowledge Atelier' Noordoost Fryslân 0 Wetterterp; Towards a promising future A multidisciplinary feasibility study towards developing a cultural historical attraction in the Eeltjemeer area Erik Tichelaar1 Project manager 880201-830-040 Siep Busink1 Controller 860201-149-080 Wendy Thomassen1 Secretary 880604-829-130 Inger de Jonge1 Team member 900126-407-050 Merle Kueckels1 Team member 880516-485-030 Debela Bercha Kumsa1 Team member 871205-488-010 Rui Zhang1 Team member 840424-987-220 Josette Jacobs2 Coach Karin Peters3 Expert 1164, New ideas for the project ‘Wetterterp’ to improve tourism in Northeast Fryslân. 1 Mechanical Bird Consultancy, Transitorium, Dreijenlaan 2, Room number G28J, NL-6703 HA, Wageningen Netherlands 2 Wageningen University and Research centre, P.O. box 90, NL-6706 KN, Wageningen 3 Wageningen University and Research centre, P.O. box 100, NL-6708 PB, Wageningen Wageningen, October 2013 Disclaimer: This report is produced by Students of Wageningen University as a part of their MSc- programme. It is NOT an official publication of Wageningen University or Wageningen UR and the content herein does not represent any formal position or representation by Wageningen University. Copyright © 2013, All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed by any means, without the prior consent of the authors. Acknowledgements A lot of people were involved in the establishment of this report. We would especially like to thank our commissioners: O. Hiddema, R. Vos and W. Foorthuis for giving us the possibility to conduct this project and for sharing their expert opinions with us. To supplement our knowledge on specific matters, several people were so friendly to provide us with their expert opinion. We would like to thank: J. Tonckens of Tonckens ecologie, M. Van Der Meer and S. O’Hagan of FUGRO, E. Wymenga of Altenburg en Wymenga ecologisch onderzoek, G. Van Oene of Plattelânsprojekten and M. Zijlstra of Beleef Fryslân. We would also like to thank our coach J. Jacobs for helping us develop ourselves during the entire process and our proposal writing expert T. Lans for his helpful remarks. Finally we would like to thank K. Peters for her expert guidance and concrete advice on the project. Summary The ‘Wetterterp’ project is a vision for the area of Eeltjemeer developed by the Commission Wetterwâlden Bûtenfjild. The project area is situated in the North-East of the province of Fryslân near Lake Eeltjemeer. The definition of the Eeltjemeer area within this project is a ten kilometre radius surrounding Eeltjemeer Lake. The project takes a closer look at the area in order to determine the feasibility of the construction of an artificial terp, in order to improve and sustain tourism activity in the area. Currently, this area is facing serious population declination caused by aging, loss of societal facilities and decreasing employment. The agricultural sector also has to deal with the results of peat oxidation, causing the land to sink in. Moreover, the current situation reveals that there is hardly any tourism related infrastructure in the area of Eeltjemeer. Hence, the area is lacking tourism related facilities. The idea of the Commission ‘Wetterwâlden Bûtenfjild is to create a touristic attraction which acts as an epicentre for the entire ‘terp area’. This study was conducted with the aim to provide the commission Wetterwâlden Bûtenfjild with a multidisciplinary feasibility study on the construction of a terp in terms of three aspects; tourism, environmental impacts, technical aspects and apart from this a stakeholder analysis was conducted. In order to realize this, the following main research question was formulated: What are the potentials and pitfalls of the construction of a terp as a touristic attraction in the area of Eeltjemeer? The following recommendations were made based on the result of this multidisciplinary feasibility study. In order to realize a profitable project, the tourism target group has to be assessed and defined. This makes it possible to adapt the plans to fully incorporate the main tourist’s wishes. Eeltjemeer and project ‘Wetterterp’ can be integrated in the idea of developing an ecological and a cultural/historical route, which is also a tool to develop tourism in the area and to connect the small villages. Consider the quality of the peat soil when designing a plan to build the terp near Eeltjemeer. Hire an archaeological advisory group to conduct drilling samples and write a report for the municipality and hopefully change the zoning scheme (archaeological expectation value 2), so that building the terp is allowed. Make estimations on traffic increase and thus air quality decrease to prevent exceeding the NIBM boundary. Check spatial planning legislation to see whether acoustic testing is required to guarantee good livelihood of people living in the area. Explore light reducing options to decrease light pollution in the area that is fairly dark now. Consider the height of the terp in relation to the core qualities (openness) of the landscape Consider the fact that a clay terp would not normally have been built on the peat soil near Eeltjemeer. However Eeltjemeer is already a strange, man-made landscape feature. As is known now, water quality does not pose a threat for recreationists during the swimming season. Before commencing the construction works, there needs to be an inventory by a professional ecologist on the exact location of the identified species near Eeltjemeer and to see whether additional species are present. Consider the presence of endangered animals in the area and develop the required Codes of Conducts to get exemptions of the Flora and Fauna law. Plan construction works outside of the bird breeding season and frog migration routes. Since the Tusken Lytsen and the adjacent meadow bird field are close to the area where the terp is planned, more research is needed on the effects of increased tourism within these areas. Take into account the circular and radial shape of historical terps, and the water surrounding these terps when making the final design. The peat needs to be stabilized (soil improvement) in order to use it for construction. Since the stability of the ground that will affect stability of the structure above it. Since the nature of peat makes it a problematic soil for construction it is recommended to test peat quality prior to designing the terp and construction methods. The main stakeholders for the project; Fryslân province, Dantumadiel Municipality. The partners connected to the project have the expertise to develop a plan for the ‘Wetterterp’ although before further work is put into building plans for the terp, energy should be put into extended market research. Samenvatting De Commissie Wetterwâlden Bûtenfjild heeft een visie voor de regio van Eeltjemeer ontworpen, waarin het ‘Wetterterp’ project centraal staat. Het projectgebied ligt in Noordoost Fryslân aan Eeltjemeer. De gebruikte definitie van de omgeving van Eeltjemeer in dit rapport is alles binnen een straal van 10 km rondom het meer. Het project beschrijft de haalbaarheid met betrekking tot het bouwen van terp, ter bevordering van toerisme in het gebied. Het gebied rondom Eeltjemeer heeft te lijden onder problemen met betrekking tot vergrijzing, verminderde sociale faciliteiten en verminderde werkgelegenheid. De agrarische sector moet bovendien rekening houden met veen oxidatie en het daardoor inklinken van het land. In de huidige situatie zijn er weinig toeristische faciliteiten in het gebied rond Eeltjemeer. De visie van de Commissie Wetterwâlden Bûtenfjild is het creëren van een toeristische attractie die kan dienen als een ingang voor het hele terpen gebied. Deze studie is uitgevoerd met als doel; een multidisciplinaire haalbaarheidsstudie met betrekking tot het bouwen van een terp. Hierbij is gekeken naar 3 verschillende aspecten passend bij de expertise van het adviesbureau namelijk toerisme, omgevingsinvloed en technische aspecten. Bovendien is een stakeholder analyse uitgevoerd. De hoofdvraag binnen het onderzoek is: Wat zijn de mogelijkheden en valkuilen in relatie tot het bouwen van een terp met toerisme als hoofdfunctie in het gebied rondom Eeltjemeer. De volgende aanbevelingen zijn gemaakt naar aanleiding van het multidisciplinaire haalbaarheidsonderzoek: Om het project realiseerbaar te maken is het van belang de toeristische doelgroep te specificeren. Op deze manier is het mogelijk de plannen hierop aan te passen. Het ‘Wetterterp’ project kan worden geïntegreerd in de plannen met betrekking tot het maken van een ecologische en cultuurhistorische route. Op deze manier kunnen de dorpen worden verbonden. Houdt rekening met de kwaliteit van het veen rondom Eeltjemeer tijdens het maken van de plannen voor de terp. Neem een archeologisch adviesbureau in de arm om bodemmonsters te nemen en een rapport te schrijven voor de gemeente Dantumadiel. Op deze manier kan het bestemmingsplan worden aangepast (archeologische verwachtingswaarde 2), zodat de bouw van de terp mogelijk is. Formuleer schattingen met betrekking tot de toegenomen verkeersdruk, om het effect hiervan op de luchtkwaliteit te berekenen. Onderzoek in de ruimtelijke ordening of the nodig is een akoestische test uit te voeren naar de geplande toegenomen geluidsdruk. Bekijk