WarmtelinQ as guest of The Hague for two years

The time had finally come. On Monday 21 August, part of De La Reyweg in The Hague was closed to traffic so that WarmtelinQ’s excavation work could start in one of the most densely populated areas of the Netherlands. What does this involve though? Local Community Coordinator Martin Warmerdam understands how important it is to properly involve local communities. ‘We will be guests of The Hague for two years,’ he explains.

It’s far from an everyday construction project. WarmtelinQ is installing a system of pipelines stretching out over 23km to transport waste heat from the Port of Rotterdam to residential areas in the cities of Vlaardingen, Delft, Rijswijk and The Hague, as well as other locations. Making good use of waste heat is a key component in a sustainable energy supply. A waste heat system involves two pipelines, the ‘feed line’ to supply the hot water and the ‘return line’ to transport the cooled water back again. A four-kilometre section of the pipeline runs straight through The Hague. 

‘We work down to the square centimetre,’ says Warmerdam, showing just how complex this infrastructure project is, a project that is the first of its kind for client Gasunie. ‘The construction will have a huge impact on the local communities. We want to be perfectly honest about this since there’s no getting around it. When you think of things like traffic diversions, local residents who suddenly have a construction site outside their front door and who have to walk further to get to a bus stop or parking spot because these have been moved temporarily, things like that. Sections of tramlines are sometimes shut down for a short while, though we even bore right under a tramline to cause as little disruption as possible.’ Local community/stakeholder managers and communications advisers from WarmtelinQ and contractor Heijmans therefore work together closely to ensure that they can properly deal with the interests, questions and complaints of residents, local businesses, public transport companies and emergency services. ‘We want to keep the sense of nuisance and inconvenience to a minimum. Furthermore, we do not want our works to take anyone by surprise and we want to keep homes and businesses accessible. We engage with local residents at an early stage so that we hear what is going on and can really do something with that information.’

It’s no exaggeration to say that WarmtelinQ is pulling out all the stops in this regard. Warmerdam explains that it is not easy, though, because the pipeline runs through the communities of Moerwijk and Transvaal, where people of more than 100 different nationalities live. These are communities with low literacy rates and a high rate of residents with poor job prospects. Warmerdam and his colleagues distributed 6,500 letters written in simple Dutch, English, Turkish and Arabic, and rang every single doorbell. ‘That was a big investment, but certainly worth it. We have opted for a personal approach and want to be visible and approachable in the local community. We have walk-in consultation periods, communicate through social organisations and schools, and we regularly have a coffee cart in the neighbourhood. Businesses can apply for business loss compensation from the city, a procedure that we help them with.’

What makes the message even more difficult is that the communities of Transvaal and Moerwijk are not even connected to the heat grid yet. ‘These communities get the inconvenience without the payoff,’ Warmerdam explains. ‘Moreover, we will be guests in this city for two full years. We want to be a good neighbour and so give something back. For example, we are providing financial support for the redevelopment of the local park in Transvaal, a place where many local residents get together in the summer. What’s more, a number of local residents are now working for the contractor – for facility services and earthworks. We are still thinking about engaging someone as a community concierge.’

It was an exciting moment, that Monday morning, exactly on the first day of school in The Hague. And then: Warmerdam did not see any traffic congestion, and the questions and complaints could be counted on one hand. ‘The complaints concerned, for example, underground waste containers that had been relocated, and parking spaces in a different permit zone. The parking permits had not been adjusted in time. We asked the local authorities to go easy on enforcement, otherwise residents would face parking fines. Fortunately, they were sympathetic and lenient.’ Personally, Warmerdam feels energised by his contact with local residents. ‘It's nice when people understand WarmtelinQ, even if it still causes annoyance and bother.’ He mentions a man who during the community consultation griped, ‘Just get on with those nasty, greasy pipes’. ‘Later, the same man was pleasantly surprised by the details of the plans. He even became somewhat positive. And that’s why I do it.’