Environmental Permit

How does it work?

You may need an environmental permit for the following:

• Building or remodeling a structure (such as a house).
• Demolishing a structure in a protected town or villagescape.
• The fire-safe use of a building, site or temporary structure.
• Altering a municipal, provincial or national monument, or remodeling or demolishing a monument.
• Performing works and activities, such as the construction of a road, raising, excavating or leveling land, digging or draining waterways, or planting or removing trees.
• Making an exit (or driveway) on the municipal or provincial road.
• Installing an alarm system.
• Creating and placing advertising (such as a billboard).
• Cutting down trees.
• The use of a building or land, not according to the zoning plan.
• Polluting the environment.
• Establishing or changing an establishment.
• Demolishing a structure when a permit requirement is included in the zoning plan.

Sometimes you need another permit. For example, a water permit or event permit.

Permit-free construction

Usually you do not need a permit for outbuildings in the backyard. The outbuilding may not exceed 5 meters in height.

If you want to install a dormer or skylight, stricter rules apply to the front of the house than to the back. The following structures may be permit-free if they are in the back yard:

• antenna installations
• construction huts, construction signs, scaffolding, piling, cranes, sheet piling, or other auxiliary structures
• structures for infrastructural or public facilities
• collectors for heat generation
• dormer
• skylight
• window frames, frame infills, facade panels
• warehouse shelving
• bridging structures
• other structures not higher than 1 meter and an area not exceeding 2 meters
• electricity generation panels
• fences
• sports or playground equipment for private use
• garden furniture
• flagpoles
• awnings, roller grilles, shutters or blinds

Refusing the permit

You will not receive an environmental permit in the following cases:

• Your application does not comply with the Building Code.
• Your application does not comply with the building code.
• Your application does not comply with the zoning plan, management regulation, exploitation plan or ministerial decrees (B and W may still determine that the environmental permit should be granted).
• Your application conflicts with the interests of historic preservation.
• According to the municipality, there is serious danger that your application will be used for a criminal offense (known as Bibob regulation).
• The application violates reasonable standards of appearance (B and W may still determine that the environmental permit should be granted).
• The opinion of the Tunnel Safety Commission warrants this.
• Your application does not comply with a municipal ordinance.
• the application concerns splitting a home into separate independent residences; this is not permitted in Kerkrade

What to do?

Consult with the municipality in advance about your plans. Then you will not be confronted with any surprises. To do this, you can send an e-mail to gemeentehuis@kerkrade.nl, attn. department Environment and Building, subject Vooroverlegleg."

Through Omgevingsloket online you can find out if you need to apply for an environmental permit. You can submit the application directly online. Please use your DigiD.

Companies can only make the application online. Please use eRecognition.

Permit application

Fill out the application form completely. Send the application form with the requested documents to the municipality. You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt.

With an extensive application, the municipality first makes a draft decision on your application. Everyone can give his or her opinion (views) within 6 weeks. If you do not agree with the draft decision, state the reasons in your opinion.

You will automatically be notified whether you will receive the permit.

Pre-consultation

The municipality may deny you the permit or not consider your application at all. If you want to avoid this, it is important to consult well with the municipality about your plans. This is called preliminary consultation. Therefore, when making your plans, contact the municipality as early as possible.

To do so, please send an email to gemeentehuis@kerkrade.nl, Attn: Department of Environment and Building, subject Pre-consultation.

What should I bring?

It depends on your construction plan what documents and data you need. For example:

• structural calculation or structural drawing
• floor plans of the floors of the structure (1:100 scale)
• Situation drawing (scale 1:1000 to 1:1500)
• drawing of the facade elevations (scale 1:100)
• cross sections and longitudinal sections (scale 1:100)
• details about the appearance of the structure

Health make sure to include drawings that show the current AND new situation.