From Rural Serenity to Overdevelopment: What’s Next for Jan Thiel?
December 10, 2024
We moved to this area nearly thirty years ago. Back then, it was rural and tranquil. You could drive along the Caracasbaaiweg in just three minutes to reach Saliña. Caracasbaai itself was nothing more than a rocky coastline.
At first, the changes came slowly—but soon, the pace picked up. Lagunisol, a gated community, appeared. Resorts began to spring up around Jan Thiel Beach. The Jan Thiel area was parceled out. Brakkeput Abou and the land around Landhuis Brakkeput were developed. FKP housing filled Kaya Broedernan di Brakapoti. APC’s partitioning plans followed. A shopping mall emerged along the same road, and earlier on, there was Eden Mall. I should also mention the condos on the beach of Caraccasbaai.
Then came the announcements: a facelift for Caracasbaai, the construction of the Laman Resort on the hills of Jan Thiel, and now, preparations for Pod homes and a development plan near the former Scherpenheuvel monastery. The once-open landscape is now densely built up. Not entirely—there’s still the peninsula—but it seems only a matter of time before that too is gone.
Today, the drive to Saliña can take up to half an hour. As a “solution,” some are now proposing a road through the nature reserve and salt flats of Jan Thiel.
What can I say to this? It feels like a betrayal of the area’s character and a short-sighted approach to development. Instead of addressing overdevelopment and traffic congestion holistically, we risk destroying the very nature that makes this area unique. Progress must not come at the expense of our natural heritage, but if history is any guide, it might be precisely what happens.
Miguel Goede
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