Façade gardens, root zones, planter boxes and green space adoption

A façade garden is a narrow garden along the façade of an owner-occupied house on local authority land.

Rules

• The width is approximately 1 tot 1.5 tiles (30 a 45 cm).
• A space of 1.20 metres must remain.
• You can use the removed stones as planter boxes for your garden by setting them upright.
• If you come across any cables and pipes while digging, contact your landlord, the local authority or your utilities company.
• Do not obstruct gutters and ventilation grids in the wall.
• Avoid causing a nuisance with overhanging branches and other greenery.
• The land in which the façade garden is built remains the property of the City of Leeuwarden.
• The local authority and utilities companies always have free access to the land in which the façade garden is located.
• You maintain the facade garden yourself.

Steps for creating façade gardens

• Before applying for a facade garden, consult with the homeowner for agreement.
• After the application, the local authority checks whether the façade garden can be built in the chosen place. Has this been approved? If so, the local authority will schedule a time to pave the edges of the facade garden. You do not need to do this yourself.
• Once the paving has been removed, you can replace the layer of street sand with garden soil or potting soil and put in your plants.
• See the Groen leeft in Leeuwarden website for suitable native plants (plants that occur naturally in the area), maintenance, and enjoy your facade garden.

Applying for or cancelling a façade garden

You can apply or cancel the garden online.

Are you unwilling or unable to apply or cancel online?

Download the form Facade gardens, tree mirrors, planters and adopting greenery (PDF, 61.32 KB) and fill in. Send the form by post to the City of Leeuwarden. You can also hand it in at the Town Hall.

The root zone is the area around a tree trunk. You can make a small garden in that area. If you have adopted a root zone, a special tile will be placed in the area to prevent it from being removed.

Rules

• Check that the soil quality is good enough.
• You can raise the root zone by a maximum of 25 cm with soil.
• If you need to dig, take care not to damage the tree’s roots.
• Water the area regularly. A root zone is often a dry area.

Adopting or cancelling a root zone

You can apply or cancel the garden online.

Are you unwilling or unable to apply or cancel online?

Download the form Facade gardens, tree mirrors, planters and adopting greenery (PDF, 61.32 KB) and fill in. Send the form by post to the City of Leeuwarden. You can also hand it in at the Town Hall.

If you want to place a planter box, the first thing to do is ask your neighbours if they agree. If not, you cannot place the planter box. Otherwise you could have problems with your neighbours, and that is the last thing anyone wants.

Which planter boxes to use

• Place a planter box that fits in well with its surroundings. The maximum size of the planter box is 1 x 1 x 1 metres.
• Reflectors must be applied to the pot to make it visible to all road users in the dark.
• The planter box should be made in such a way that it is movable (possibly by using a forklift truck).

Where you can place a planter box

• Pedestrians need 1.20 metres of walking space on a pavement/pedestrian area.
• Do not place a planter box in the walking route for the blind and visually impaired.
• A minimum distance of 2 metres must be kept free up to:
  • The street corner
  • Pedestrian crossings and bus stops.
  • Trees and green spaces (hedges, parks and lawns) in connection with maintenance.
• Access to adjacent homes, institutions and businesses must be kept clear.
• A minimum distance of 1 metre must be kept free up to:
  • Underground and above-ground fire hydrants.
  • Valves and distributor boxes of utilities companies.
• Street gutters and gullies must be kept clear to allow rainwater to drain.
• Due to the limited space and protected urban conservation area, additional rules apply to the city centre. For more information, contact the City of Leeuwarden.

Who maintains the planter boxes?

The applicant is personally responsible for maintaining the planter box. Avoid causing nuisance

Points to consider

• The land on which the planter box stands remains the property of the City of Leeuwarden.
• The name of the applicant for the planter box must be known and that person must know the rules.
• If the soil is needed for other things, the box can be removed after notifying the applicant for the planter box.
• The local authority and utilities companies always have free access to the land on which the planter box is located. The planter box can be moved for this purpose by the Field Service or relevant contractor.
• The local authority is not responsible for damage caused by moving the planter boxes.
• If the “planter box” rules are not followed, the planter box may be removed without further notice.

Applying for or cancelling a planter box

You can apply or cancel the garden online.

Are you unwilling or unable to apply or cancel online?

Download the form Facade gardens, tree mirrors, planters and adopting greenery (PDF, 61.32 KB) and fill in. Send the form by post to the City of Leeuwarden. You can also hand it in at the Town Hall.

In certain situations, it is possible to maintain a piece of local authority land, public green space. The maximum size is 50 m2. You can plant your own flowers or plants here but the land remains the property of the City of Leeuwarden.

Rules

If you want to maintain a piece of local authority land, public green space, ask your neighbours if they agree first. If they do not agree, it cannot go ahead. Otherwise you could have problems with your neighbours, and that is the last thing anyone wants.

• The land remains the property of the City of Leeuwarden.
• The local authority can place the adopted land back under its own management if necessary. The applicant will be informed of this.
• The local authority is not liable for any damage caused to your adopted green space during maintenance.
• If the rules for “adopting green space” are not met, the initiative may be stopped by the local authority, which will take the adopted land back under its own management.
• Include a map/plan of the piece of land you want to maintain with your application. You can do this using Google Maps.
• If the application is approved, a white tile will be placed as a sign that the green space is maintained by the resident.
• Please let us know if you decide to stop maintaining a public green space. For that purpose, send an email to: bewonersinitiatieven@leeuwarden.nl.

Points to consider

• The land may not be leased, sublet or passed on to third parties for any form of use.
• No buildings, fencing and/or other structures that obstruct access may be built.
• No nuisance must be caused to nearby residents.
• The land may not be paved.
• No deep-rooting trees and/or shrubs may be planted. This is in connection with cables and pipes.
• The local authority or utilities companies may always carry out any necessary earthworks.
• Street gutters and gullies must be kept clear for rainwater drainage.
• Due to the limited space and protected urban conservation area, additional rules apply to the city centre. For more information, contact the City of Leeuwarden by sending an email to: bewonersinitiatieven@leeuwarden.nl.

Adopting or cancelling public green space

You can apply or cancel the garden online.

Are you unwilling or unable to apply or cancel online?

Download the form Facade gardens, tree mirrors, planters and adopting greenery (PDF, 61.32 KB) and fill in. Send the form by post to the City of Leeuwarden. You can also hand it in at the Town Hall.

As a resident, would you like to organize, implement and finance something with the aim of improving the living environment in your village, district or neighbourhood? Then you can submit a residents’ initiative. You will find more information on the page Submitting a residents’ initiative.