Petition tries to save community centre at Utrecht Science Park

Inaugurated on 2 June, the community centre is located at Coïmbraplein, directly opposite the Spar supermarket. The space offers the 4,000 people living at Utrecht Science Park a place to meet one another through game nights, craft afternoons and other activities. The goal is to improve quality of life and combat loneliness. USP residents can also book the space to organise their own initiatives.

However, Buurthuys needs financing to operate. The residents behind the initiative hoped for a grant from the municipal council, which allocates 15.2 million euros yearly to social projects. However, shortly after its inauguration, Buurthuys failed to secure a share of this funding.

WoonCollectief Utrecht Science Park (WCU), a residents' association, has started a petition to save the space. Nearly three hundred people have signed it so far, with most signatures collected through WhatsApp groups. The residents’ association also put up posters and collected signatures at a stall during Neighbours’ Day on 26 September. It is not clear to whom WCU intends to present the signatures.

Unpleasant surprise
In 2024, a report by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) revealed that many students living at Utrecht Science Park struggled with serious mental health issues. The report also found that quality of life was declining for those living on campus. Nearly one in five Utrecht Science Park residents feels lonely, the study found. Hence the importance of a place like Buurthuys, WCU chair Silke van der Horst says in an article in the Utrecht University of Applied Sciences magazine Trajectum.

When some USP residents had the idea of opening a community centre, the local council immediately supported them. “Many councillors and politicians were all talk about resident participation, saying they wanted to tackle problems in our neighbourhood,” Van der Horst told Trajectum. Encouraged by the councillors' words, the Buurthuys organisers had little doubt that they would get the money they needed. 

However, the grant of several hundred thousand euros, spread over four years, never materialised. Without financial support from the municipal council, Buurthuys cannot survive and will have to close its doors in January, WCU says. Buurthuys had already started recruiting staff, which they call "neighbourhood connectors". The lion’s share of the grant would go to their salaries.

The organisers were surprised not to get the grant. “It was a heavy blow. We were left speechless,” Van der Horst told Trajectum.

UU continues to support Buurthuys
UU's former vice-president Margot van der Starre hinted during the Opening of the Academic Year that UU intends to continue supporting the initiative. UU’s press officer cannot specify what this means in concrete terms yet, but expects this to become clear soon.