What is the red-for-red scheme?

Red-for-red (Dutch: rood-voor-rood) is a municipal planning scheme that allows a new dwelling in the countryside where one would normally be refused, in return for demolishing redundant agricultural buildings that disfigure the landscape. The logic is simple: a little new “red” (built development) may be added if more old “red” disappears. The scheme exists to stop the rural landscape filling up with derelict sheds as farms lose their function.

How it works

Demolition generates demolition credits: the square metres of building you take down. Those credits can be exchanged for the right to build a dwelling, either on the demolition site itself or elsewhere within the same municipality. Most schemes run on a “closed purse” basis: the authority contributes nothing, and the value of the building plot must cover both the demolition and the landscape works.

Common conditions

Criteria are set in local policy and differ from one municipality to the next. Requirements that recur:

• A minimum demolition area — in the province of Overijssel classically 850 m² of farm buildings, elsewhere sometimes 1,000 m².
• Complete clearance of the holding, including yard hardstanding, manure slabs, clamp silos and small outbuildings — not just the largest shed.
• A minimum per site where several holdings are added together.
• A cut-off date: the buildings must have been erected before a given date (for example 1 January 2004), so that nobody builds in order to demolish.
• Characteristic and historically valuable buildings are excluded — you cannot trade away a listed farmhouse.
• A size cap on the replacement dwelling, in Overijssel usually 750 m³ of volume.
• Investment in landscape quality: a planting plan with hedgerows, tree belts, native species or the restoration of a landscape feature.

What trips people up in practice

• It is policy, not an entitlement. The municipality may refuse. Always secure pre-application agreement before you spend money on demolition.
• The procedure is slow. The local plan has to be amended, with a draft, a consultation period and an appeal window; expect many months to a few years.
• Asbestos dominates the demolition budget. Corrugated sheet roofs on 1960s and 1970s sheds frequently contain asbestos, and licensed removal costs a multiple of ordinary demolition.
• Have the demolition area surveyed and recorded beforehand, with drawings and photographs. Proving afterwards what stood there is close to impossible.
• Related schemes. Alongside red-for-red there are red-for-green and space-for-space arrangements; which is more favourable depends on the case.

Related terms

• Local plan
• Planning permission
• Zoning plan
• Building plot
• Historic value

Want to know more about building terms? Visit our knowledge base at fredsdiyplans.com.