The married couple Unni Elin and Rune Hovden have lived in uncertainty for several years. They don’t know if their block of flats will have to be demolished, and what they will possibly get in compensation. In the tiny village of Kjøde ved Stad, the Hovden family also does not know where to dispose of their large fishing boat, “Hovden Viking”. The fishing boat moored on the property has 15 employees. The married couple find the situation very difficult. – It’s a health risk to go with the hope of keeping the house, while the next day you get a message to the contrary, says Rune Hovden. If it goes as the government wishes, the tunnel opening to the world’s largest ship tunnel will come 80 meters from their house. The tunnel will make it safer for ships to get past weather-resistant Stad. Stad ship tunnel will be 50 meters high and 36 meters wide and will be put out to tender at the turn of the year. The cost framework is NOK 5.1 billion. Planned start of construction is 2025 with a construction period of five years. Stad ship tunnel will be 2.2 kilometers long and the only one of its kind. Planned start of construction is in 2025. A construction time of five years is calculated. Illustration: Kystverket/ Multikonsult/Link Arkitektur This is the case: The state wants to build a 2.2 kilometer long ship tunnel through Stadlandet. The 50 meter high and 36 meter wide tunnel opening will come 80 meters from the Hovden couple’s residential building. The Norwegian Coastal Administration believes that the residential building will be so close to the ship tunnel that it will be demolished. The Hovden couple think it will be fine to live in the house and not to move out. The Norwegian Coastal Administration has taken the case to court to demolish the residential building. The court case will probably come up at the turn of the year. The ship tunnel is estimated to cost NOK 5.1 billion. Planned start of construction in 2025 and a construction time of five years has been calculated. Gets support from the neighborhood association The couple first learned that it was not necessary to demolish the apartment building, but that they periodically risked having to move out during the five-year construction period. They agreed to this, but then the Coastal Agency turned around. They demand that the house must still be demolished. The couple and their son work in the family business Hovden senior. They get to keep the quay facility and have plans for major investments there. But a breakwater near the ship tunnel can come into conflict with the fishing boat. Therefore, everything is uncertain. – We are talking about house and home and our life’s work, says Rune Hovden. The fishing boat “Hovden Viking” is docked here on the property at Kjøde. The boat is owned by the Hovden family. Photo: Asgeir Heimdal Reksnes / news Leader of the Kjøde neighborhood association, Kristian Teigen, understands that the Hovden couple are frustrated, and they are not alone. – I think almost everyone in the village is critical of the Coastal Agency’s procedure. We will never get a real answer as to how it will turn out. The plans are changed and they get bigger, without us getting proper information. Everyone lives in uncertainty, he says. Four cases come before the court Since the Hovden couple did not accept that the house should be demolished, the state has started legal proceedings to take over the property by force. A so-called non-ownership case. The district court must decide whether the residential building must be demolished and what they will possibly receive in compensation. The couple want a court decision as soon as possible, but the case has been postponed indefinitely. The Storting has basically given the go-ahead for the ship tunnel, but has seen as a requirement that it must not cost more than NOK 5.1 billion. The Coastal Agency points out that the final go-ahead and time for the start of construction has not been determined and that ongoing processes for the redemption of properties must be stopped. The married couple have complained about this, but an explanation was easy to come by. – The abuse we are subjected to is disrespectful and inhumane, says Rune Hovden. His wife Unni Elin nods and adds. – We want clarification, but everything is uncertain and we cannot plan anything. So far, three families have had their residential buildings and properties redeemed. Some cabins and boathouses with other owners have also been let in by the state. The total price tag so far is NOK 40 million. In addition, four cases must be decided by the court. Hovden’s property is one of these. Here is the house of married couple Rune and Unni Elin Hovden, which the state wants to demolish. The tunnel opening for Stad ship tunnel will be 80 meters from to the right of the house. Photo: Asgeir Heimdal Reksnes / news I think the visual is decisive In a recent report prepared on behalf of the Norwegian Coastal Administration, it appears that deep loess masses near the residential building can move during blasting work. Blasting work can also lead to “damage to the building, or that the construction work must be carried out with great care”. Something that will lead to a significant rise in prices. It is also pointed out that the house will be “visually exposed”, right on the edge of the facility. It “will break with the natural lines that the cuts will form”. Rune Hovden’s lawyer, Lars Inge Ørstavik, has little to spare for the report from Multiconsult. He points out that it was made in February this year, long after the state decided to take the apartment building by force, and claims that the facts in the case are “constructed”. – Hovden’s residential building will not be physically affected by the work. It’s not on bulk at all. It says directly on the mountain, says the lawyer. The only thing that cannot be directly refuted by the state’s argument as technically incorrect is that the house affects the visual impression of the ship tunnel, the lawyer believes. – It is hard to swallow that one has to leave home because society at large thinks the house is not pretty enough to be able to stay approx. 80 meters from the tunnel section, says Ørstavik. Rune and Unni Elin Hovden are distraught that they may be forced to move from their house. Photo: Asgeir Heimdal Reksnes / news Coastal Administration: – The decision has been made Project manager for the City Ship Tunnel at the Coastal Administration, Terje Kjeppestad, rejects that they come up with fabricated arguments and that the visuals are decisive for the house having to be demolished. – No, here only professional arguments are emphasized. There is a great risk of damaging the buildings when you build the ship tunnel, he says. – But isn’t it possible to see how it goes, and that the Hovden couple can move back again if the house is not damaged during the construction work? – No, that’s not how we work. The decision to dispose of the property has been made. Kjeppestad understands that it can be burdensome for the villagers to have such a large project close to them. – It is regrettable that the preparatory work for the project is taking longer than anticipated. We have registered that some people are dissatisfied, but we have far from experienced a storm from the rural people, he says. Willing to fight on Rune Hovden is not giving up and promises to use all his energy to ensure that they continue to live in the house. – But are you sure that it will be okay to live there with the huge opening in the ship tunnel nearby? – It will go perfectly fine and we don’t fear much noise. In central areas, it is quite common to build close tunnels. The Coastal Agency must come to their senses, he says.
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The Norwegian Coastal Administration will demolish the house when the Stad ship tunnel is to be built
