The Mayor's New Year's Eve Speech

Dear residents, business owners, representatives of associations and organizations, emergency service personnel, fellow administrators, and all other stakeholders,

A warm welcome to this New Year’s Eve gathering. For the third year in a row, we are pleased to welcome you to Duivenvoorde Castle, which once again looks simply magical.

2025 … What a year it’s been! A year in which we made many memories together, memories we look back on with big smiles. But it was also a year with moments that brought tears to our eyes, such as the moving memorial service for 13-year-old Raphaël at the Voorschoten ’97 soccer club. Or the passing of Martin Oppelaar, whom many of us knew as the driving force behind the preservation of Spuit 41 and the fire museum.

These days, our thoughts are especially with the families and friends who will soon be missing a loved one at the Christmas table.

80 Years of Freedom

Nationwide, 2025 was marked by the 80th anniversary of freedom. And what a variety of activities we enjoyed here in Voorschoten! From the unveiling of the White Carnation Garden and the veterans’ memorial to the Liberation Concert by Exultate Deo; to the laying of the first Stolpersteine, the launch of the podcast series featuring personal stories, and the Freedom Lunch on Voorstraat. The highlight was the lighting of the Liberation Fire by runners from the Voorschoten ’97 track and field club.

Thank you to Hoogvliet Supermarket, Van der Valk, the Oranjevereniging, the Wapen van Voorschoten, The British School in the Netherlands, cultural organizations, sports clubs, Scouting, schools, and everyone who helped in any way to celebrate 80 years of freedom together and keep the stories alive.

Sports

For the most part, 2025 was also the year when plans that had been discussed for a very long time were finally put into action and brought to fruition. I can’t think of a more concrete example than the new track at Voorschoten ’97. The very first lap was run there in September.

And we’re moving forward with sports! Just look at the plans for the swimming pool and the sports hall. Or consider the multi-purpose track, where we’ll soon be able to skate in the summer and ice skate in the winter, surrounded by a climate-adaptive park.

Public Space

A lot of work has also been done in public spaces. For example, major maintenance projects in Adegeest and in the city center near Raadhuislaan and Oranjeboomstraat. Or a little further away, with the renovation of Rosenburgh Memorial Park.

From maintenance, it’s—at least on paper—just a small step to new-construction homes. The new homes on Professor Einsteinlaan are nearing completion, the first homes in Bijdorp are almost ready for occupancy, and construction in Park Beresteyn has been completed.

The council also made a decision regarding the Jan Evertsenlaan and Jan Wagtendonkstraat projects. Building for all demographic groups is important to ensure that our village remains a livable place in the future.

Finally, building permits have been issued for Starrenburg III, and applications for building permits have been submitted for Segaar-Arsenaal and Raadhuislaan.

When thinking about public spaces, of course, also consider the development vision for the city center and the redevelopment of Treubplein. Change and investment are needed to keep our city center attractive to visitors and business owners.

Culture

Next up: culture. Once again this year, we enjoyed a fantastic Weekend of Voorschoten. As is tradition, it kicked off with the Voorschoten Awards ceremony—an evening when many volunteers are rightfully honored. Where would we be without all those volunteers in our community?

The grand finale came the next morning. Together, we sang our brand-new village song, “Parel aan de Vliet.” Huge kudos to Ine Duijnkerke for the lyrics and Rob Balfoort for the music!

The awards ceremony and the song’s premiere took place at the Kruispuntkerk. We’re working so hard to turn that place into our cultural center.

You’re used to me saying a few words here about the bandstand as well. Fortunately, this year we were able to purchase a beautiful green-and-yellow bandstand, which will allow us to continue in style for years to come. Thanks to the Friends of Voorschoten, the Oranjevereniging, the Horse Days Committee, and the downtown business owners of Voorschoten who worked so hard to make this happen!

Youth

It’s just a small step from the Voorschoten Weekend to the youth in our village. Imagine being 15 or 16 these days and having nowhere to go on a Friday or Saturday night. We’re seeing more kids hanging out on the streets, even though we all seem to be less and less willing to accept that. That makes it all the more exciting that the Youth Council is brainstorming activities, such as an annual Voorschoten Festival. I hope we can work together to make that a reality next year.

During the Voorschoten Weekend, I spent two nights patrolling with the police. There were lots of young people out on the streets getting together. Yes, it was crowded both evenings, but the atmosphere was really friendly.

As I stood there and walked around, I asked myself: Did I really do things that much differently at that age? The honest answer is “no.” And I think that if we’re completely honest, that’s true for many of us. So why are we so critical of today’s youth, I wonder.

Street Safety

What really shocked me that weekend, though, were the mostly young girls lying passed out on the street from alcohol abuse. Where have the days gone when groups of friends used to look out for one another? When you used to make sure everyone was safe on the street?

This is an issue that is more relevant than ever today. Three out of four women have been harassed on the street at some point. The fact that this conversation is now taking place everywhere is perhaps the most important development of all. And the realization that is sinking in for many people. After all, it’s not normal for women to walk around with pepper spray in their coat pockets, take detours to avoid certain locations, or use their keychain as a makeshift weapon.

We can't prevent all the trouble in the world. And there will always be people on the street who are up to no good. As my father used to say to me: “I trust you, but I don't trust others.”

We can certainly be a little more mindful of one another and ensure that there are fewer places where women feel socially unsafe. Next year, we’ll make it even easier to report unsafe places. To that end, we’ll add a reporting feature to our BuitenBeter app. It’s a first step! In addition, we need to learn to “read” public spaces, so to speak, through the eyes of women. We need to understand why one place is perceived as socially unsafe while another isn’t, and take that into account when designing these spaces.

Police

Unfortunately, there’s plenty going on in Voorschoten, too. There’s no fence around our village, and criminals simply don’t respect municipal boundaries. But I dare say that we’re fortunate to live, work, and enjoy our leisure time in a municipality that we can call safe.

We’re all working hard on this together, just as we stand here today, every single day. The police are an indispensable partner in this effort. But above all, they are a partner we, as a society, can always count on. They’re there for us day and night. We must not take that for granted. The pressure on our police officers is simply too high.

Thank you, Sam and Dennis, and your entire team, for everything over the past year!

Fire Department

Next, a note about those other heroes: our firefighters. Although they do this work on a volunteer basis, they can find themselves in the same situations as their professional counterparts.

That is why I am grateful that, as of February 1, a PTSD regulation for the fire department will take effect that makes no distinction between professional and volunteer firefighters. The recognition of PTSD as an occupational disease among firefighters is a major step forward.

We would like to thank the safety region, as well as our own city council, which has been a strong advocate for this.

How exciting: the new WTS-500 fire truck officially entered service this year! The Voorschoten Fire Department is ready to go.

Regional Cooperation

We also collaborate in other areas within the region. After all, we can’t do everything on our own, and for you—as residents and business owners—municipal boundaries often don’t even exist.

It is important that we continue to seek out such collaboration, for example within the Key Region Leiden. Voorschoten believes in this. We may not have the key sectors within our municipal boundaries ourselves, but it is our residents who are studying, working, and driving innovations there that are relevant to the entire Netherlands.

As far as I’m concerned, this collaboration can only succeed if it’s not non-binding. I’ve said before that working together can’t be like a cafeteria model—where you look at the daily menu and choose whatever you feel like or whatever suits you best. So in 2026, we’ll get back to work to take the next necessary steps in our collaboration in the Leiden region—which, as far as I’m concerned, is not a non-committal one.

Elections

Finally, the House of Representatives elections. We went to the polls on October 29. Thanks to the many volunteers in our village and our municipal administration, the elections went very smoothly. Together, they counted more than 16,000 votes.

With a turnout of no less than 85%, I dare say that politics and democracy are alive and well in Voorschoten. This makes the contrast with the various attacks on democracy across the country all the more striking. We’re seeing that even city council meetings can no longer take place without disruption, and elected officials are being threatened.

Whatever your opinion may be, wherever you stand on the political spectrum, and whichever party you vote for, we must work together as a society. Democracy must never bow to a small group of people who think they can disrupt our democracy through intimidation, aggression, threats, and violence. We will never go along with that.

The tone and substance of the political debate matter. The behavior of political leaders influences our society. I am so proud that we continue to treat one another with respect in our council chamber on Thursday evenings.

Outlook for 2026

You can also view the House of Representatives elections as a dress rehearsal. Because on March 18, we’ll be heading to the polls again, this time to elect a new city council. That makes 2026 a year of change.

The first change has already been announced: Councilman Paul de Bruijn will be leaving us on February 1 to take on an exciting new position in Leiden. Paul, we’ll say goodbye at a later date, but I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for your collegiality and all your dedication to Voorschoten.

Missed

What haven't I mentioned yet? Way too much!

We worked from home because there was a NATO summit. We appointed both a new municipal secretary and a new town clerk. We opened the first partially smoke-free patio and the first smoke-free playground. We adopted the word “freggelgrot” as a synonym for city hall. And we participated in the preliminary round of the Dutch Marbles Championship.

And do you remember? The NL-Alert in May, when there was a biogas leak at the wastewater treatment plant and we had to keep our windows and doors closed? Fortunately, more than 3,500 residents have already received our brochure about an emergency kit and an emergency plan. Thanks to the supermarkets and the library for their help in distributing it.

Conclusion

I'll wrap things up. After all, you want to continue enjoying drinks and then head home.

Whether you have a Christmas wreath on your front door, a decorated artificial Christmas tree, a real tree from here on the estate, or perhaps a nativity scene complete with the Three Wise Men and a camel—I wish you a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. And please be sure to keep an eye out for those who would appreciate a little extra help and warmth during this time of year.

I, too, will be seeking out that warmth and coziness. In keeping with tradition, I’ll have two Christmas trees, because I still put up an extra one decorated with my mother’s Christmas ornaments.

Let’s work together to make 2026 another wonderful year, with the 800th anniversary of this magnificent Duivenvoorde Castle as its special highlight. Thank you very much. Cheers!