Framework and course Rottemeren

The Rottemeren is a recreational area consisting of a large number of interconnected lakes, parks, and green and agrarian zones around the River Rotte. Located between the urban zone and the greenhouses of Lansingerland, Zuidplas and Rotterdam, it is the link between city, village and the Green Heart. The function of green space in this increasingly urbanised environment will continue to grow in importance in the future for a congenial residential and recreational climate. Other developments also play a role in the future of the Rottemeren, such as the modification of the water system to adapt it to climate change and the renovation of the vegetation in the face of the branch tip death affecting ash trees. All these challenges call for a new and coherent vision for the future of the Rottemeren.

The three local authorities want to guarantee the timeless value of the large green area formed by the Rottemeren for future generations. To that end, the Rottemeren will be developed as a recreational landscape park relying on the River Rotte and the polder chambers. Robust in the face of climate change, this sustainable landscape development is aimed at active forms of leisure activity in which the developmental potential of the parties involved is utilised. Five ambitions have been formulated on the basis of this course:

1. The Rottemeren is a central link in the green-blue structure of the Rotterdam region. The aim is to improve the wet and dry links with the other landscapes such as Midden-Delfland and the Krimpenerwaard and to improve the links with the surrounding neighbourhoods and cores.

2.Landscape park relying on the River Rotte and the polder chambers. A sturdy landscape framework will be developed with the River Rotte as its blue backbone, with green ribs of lanes, dikes and waterways at right angles to it. Each of the polder chambers situated in that structure has a character of its own, from open and agrarian to wooded and parklike. The Rondje Rottemeren, a new route for slow traffic, will link the polder chambers and enhance cohesion.

3. Sustainable outdoor activity: sport and active forms of leisure activity. The Rottemeren offers plenty of opportunity for movement, enjoying the countryside, and sport. Both the local function for the surrounding neighbourhoods and villages (cycling, inline skating, walking the dog) and the function for recreational attractions on a larger scale will be strengthened. A smart zoning plan can prevent this from adversely affecting the feeling of space and tranquillity in the Rottemeren

4. Accessible from all sides and optimal accessibility. The Rottemeren is mainly accessible to slow traffic, cars are not at home there. Important access roads to the area will function as gateways with car parks and transfer points to the slow traffic network. Work will also be done on improving the cycle, pedestrian and waterway links

5. Collaboration based on shared responsibility. Making the Rottemeren area more attractive is a shared ambition of the Recreation Board, the local authorities, the park management, the present and future residents, entrepreneurs and social organisations.