Summary
- The province published a proposal on 6 October correcting planning-area boundaries at 11 locations.
- At De Kwakel, Uithoorn, the proposed correction relates to a data centre permitted before 2022.
- Consultation runs from 7 October to 17 November; any final change is expected later.
The Province of North Holland has proposed correcting the planning map for a data centre development at De Kwakel in Uithoorn, where an earlier municipal permission is not accurately reflected in the province’s current geographical designations.
The proposal was published on 6 October as part of changes affecting 11 locations across the province. Consultation began the following day and continues until 17 November. No final revision of the provincial rules has yet been adopted under this process.
The distinction between permission and policy maps
North Holland’s environmental planning ordinance uses defined geographical zones to determine which activities and conditions apply to different areas. The province says a data centre in De Kwakel received a municipal environmental permit before 2022 and is subject to older rules, but the current map does not accurately identify that position.
The proposed boundary amendment is intended to correct the mismatch, allowing the municipality and developer to continue working through plans under the appropriate legal framework. It is not an announcement of a new hyperscale campus, fresh permission to build or a completed energy connection.
Planning systems need to preserve the distinction between rights already granted and restrictions introduced afterwards. A map that misrepresents an exception can produce uncertainty even when the legal history of an application is established. Correcting it may help identify which rules the municipality must use when considering subsequent steps.
A limited change with practical consequences
The proposal concerns one data centre-related location within a broader package of provincial technical and spatial adjustments. Other areas relate to different land uses, including housing, and should not be interpreted as evidence of a general relaxation of Dutch data centre policy.
The physical development still faces normal delivery questions. Existing permission does not confirm that high-voltage electricity infrastructure, building works, cooling equipment and tenants have been secured. Those milestones belong to the project’s implementation record, not to a cartographic correction.
North Holland expects to decide on the amendments later in 2026, with revised designations potentially taking effect in February 2027. Both timings are prospective and subject to consultation responses and formal adoption.
At Uithoorn, the proposed correction would clarify the legal boundaries applying to an already permitted site. The provincial action also illustrates how permissions granted before new regulations can become difficult to administer when the digital planning map omits a recognised exception.
The province says the map does not currently recognise that the De Kwakel site secured municipal permission before 2022. Its correction would clarify which set of rules applies to the older project rather than creating a blanket exemption for new Dutch developments.
North Holland expects the changes to be decided towards the end of 2026, with possible effect from February 2027. That schedule remains subject to representations received during consultation and a formal provincial decision; it is not an accelerated construction date for the data centre.
The next reportable action is a final provincial decision and accompanying revised map. Until that occurs, the data centre-specific correction remains a proposal open to representations rather than a completed relaxation of development restrictions.
