Council information evening about Meta data center in Zeewolde is not public after all

A council information evening about Meta’s data center in Zeewolde is not public after all. The parties Leefbaar Zeewolde and ChristenUnie reported on Tuesday that the meeting will take place behind closed doors on Thursday evening, due to the discussion of secret documents.

Until Tuesday evening, the information evening was scheduled as public. According to the municipality of Zeewolde, no secret documents would be discussed. Leefbaar Zeewolde has contradicted this and says it is a misunderstanding. Secret documents are discussed. “We wanted to know what legal options there are to do something against the data center. It now appears that the legal context of this is unfortunately still a secret. So we still have to keep that part a secret,” says Leefbaar Zeewolde municipal councilor Winnie Prins. Discussing the secret documents at the end of the information evening is not possible, because the meeting is largely about these documents, according to Prins.

The opposition has criticized the decision, which they say came out of the blue. It was expressly agreed that the meeting would be public and it would not be a misunderstanding, according to Yvonne van Bruggen of Actief Zeewolde. “Does this mean that both groups want to make something heard that should not come out? That is my interpretation, but I can imagine that residents are wondering that too. Is there something to hide?” says Van Bruggen against the local broadcaster of Zeewolde.

There is a lot of resistance to the arrival of the Meta data center, also outside Zeewolde. A majority of the Provincial Council of Flevoland does not like the data center. Last month, the Senate accepted a motion demanding that the government stop the implementation of the zoning plan until it is clear that the construction does not conflict with government policy. Not long after, Meta decided to put plans on hold for its data center. Although the plans have been put on hold for now, it is possible that the data center will still be built.