Schakenbosch - a story of a flourishing decay

As long as I have been on this planet park Schakenbosch, also known under the name of Robert-Fleury Stichting and GGZ Haagstreek, has always been there.

I've spent literally my whole life there: as a child I went there with my parents as my grandpa worked there and therefore had access to an allotment. I danced around in the sprinklers singing "Singing in the Rain".

As a teenager I walked around the park just to calm down, as a grown up I worked there for 5 years doing Communication, PR and Marketing

Not to mention the 21 years I've walked there with Zanora (my first horse) and Lluky (my love now) and so many other horses which I was taking care off at that moment.

But it's not only me: it's hunderds of people walking there every day, just for a stroll, or to walk their dogs, play with their drones and have lovely convos. It's what you call a happy place.

Although the buildings are decaying by the ravages of time as they are not in use anymore, nature flourishes at it's best: bees, birds, trees, wild bunnies and hares and a lot of insects...

.... And this place is gonna cease to exist after so many decades. Just to build 325 houses, which a normal person will not be able to afford (a flat will cost up to 400.000, houses around 7/8). Nature will be demolished, insect will leave, birds will find another place, hopefully, and we.. the people with our animals... we do not have many options anymore to walk the dog or horse, ride the horse etc.

It's breaking my heart... Thank God it will take a few more years before they will start building, so I'm gonna enjoy the bejesus out of it...

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