At VDL Nedcar, a start has been made with the felling of the Sterrebos next to the factory. Activists were holed up there until the beginning of this week, but now that they are gone, the saw can go in.
Lumberjacks started cutting and felling trees in the Sterrebos next to Nedcar near Born on Tuesday. The felling had already started during the eviction of the forest, then still occupied by activists who opposed the felling. There will also be felling in the coming days, a spokesperson for VDL said on Wednesday. The police are monitoring the work, according to a spokeswoman both visibly and remotely. If someone wants to enter the site without authorization or causes destruction, immediate action can be taken.
According to the company, the felling of part of the forest is necessary to enable expansion of the adjacent car factory. This expansion should tempt foreign companies to have cars built in Born. VDL talks about this in particular with the American start-up Rivian, which is looking for a place in Europe to have electric cars produced. Nedcar is on the fence, but there are also other candidates. When cutting the Sterrebos, you should hurry: only this month is still allowed, because after that it is prohibited due to the breeding season.
The felling became possible when VDL and the De Groene Sporenwolf (DGS) foundation concluded an agreement on nature compensation and measures to prevent nuisance for the neighboring village of Nieuwstadt. DGS had filed an appeal against the hood with the Council of State, but withdrew that appeal after the agreement with VDL. That paved the way for the hood on Tuesday. Activists of the action group Save the Sterrebos started an occupation of the forest on Friday 28 January in an attempt to stop the felling. But after twelve days, the police ended the occupation on Tuesday. At that time, fifty activists were arrested. They have all since been released, many awaiting trial.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl