Meerstad

In March 2005, the municipal council of Slochteren approved the master plan of Meerstad.^[4] The name is a combination of meer (lake) and stad (city), and was planned to become a suburban planned town with 10,000 houses for 30,000 people by 2026.^[5] The town would be built on a 2,300 hectares (5,700 acres) area,^[3] and would cater to middle income families.^[6] In 2006, the construction of the central lake started,^[7] and in 2008, the first houses were built.^[3] Slochteren would be responsible, however it would be built in corporation with the city of Groningen.^[3]

The initial plans were too optimistic. In 2010, there were supposed to be 3,000 houses in Meerstad, but in 2014, less than 200 had been built.^[8] The numbers were revised down to 6,000 houses by 2035.^[3] In 2011, there were rumours that Slochteren wanted to transfer ownership to the city of Groningen, however both municipalities neither confirmed nor denied the rumours.^[9] In 2015, it was announced that Meerstad would be transferred to the city of Groningen effective 1 January 2017.^[10] The villages of Harkstede and Lageland [nl] which were located within the Meerstad project would remain in Slochteren.^[11]

In 2021, the losses on the Meerstad project were in excess of €100 million,^[8] and the population was 2,595 people.^[1]

• 
  Gruno Park (2021)
• 
  Buildings on the lake

• Boersma, Jan Jacob (2005). "Meerstad Groningen" (in Dutch). Christen Unie Slochteren.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Meerstad.

• Official website (in Dutch)