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Draft application — not yet submitted. English translation of the Dutch original.

Neighbourhood radio for a resilient district

Draft application — Zoetermeer 2040 Social Initiatives grant scheme

In short. Residents of the Rietvaart back alleys are building their own neighbourhood radio network that keeps working when the internet, the mobile network or the power fails. The trigger is practical: the foundation is renewing the operation of its access gate with the same technology. Because residents use it daily, the network is actually on the day it is needed. This application covers only the neighbourhood part: radios for residents of the area, a repeater on a high point, exercises, an outdoor socket and a public manual. The foundation pays for the gate itself.

Who we are

The Stichting Beheer Rijstrook Rietvaart VI manages a back alley in Zoetermeer; it is the smallest of six similar foundations in the area. The neighbourhood has invested in safety before: in 2025 neighbours jointly funded a neighbourhood AED through the Dutch Heart Foundation's BuurtAED scheme, on the initiative of a resident who is himself part of the foundation; it has hung on his façade since May 2025. Contributions were in the order of € 100 per household, out of their own pockets — demonstrable proof of commitment and of willingness to invest in the neighbourhood's safety. This initiative builds on that: after the AED, now the connection to organise help when the usual networks fail.

Contribution to Zoetermeer 2040

A palette of districts and neighbourhoods — safety. Self-reliance and neighbourly help at street level, complementing 112, NL-Alert and the crisis organisation.
City of applied innovation. Open, new radio technology (LoRa, MeshCore) applied by residents themselves, in a city with a strong ICT tradition.
Accessible to as many residents as possible. The network is not limited to one street: residents of surrounding streets and the other Rietvaart foundations can join, with help to set things up and extra attention for older and less digital neighbours.

What we will do (new initiative)

Radios for the neighbourhood: ready-made neighbourhood radios (MeshCore) lent or given to residents, paired with their phone via Bluetooth.
Repeater on a high point with a battery, so that streets further away are reached — preferably in consultation with the municipality about a suitable location.
Agreements and exercises: what do we do in a major outage; who fetches the AED; a yearly exercise, for example linked to the national siren test.
Power for the neighbourhood: a lockable outdoor socket on the foundation's meter cabinet, normally switched off, for gatherings and exercises in the street.
Public manual on DoeMee Zoetermeer, so other neighbourhoods can adopt it.

Lasting effect (at least 3 years)

The network relies on daily use: residents use the same kind of radios to open the gate. As a result, the devices stay in use, charged and familiar. Management lies with the foundation, which has managed the gate for years; the AED arrangements are made together with the resident who set up the AED. The equipment is low-power and there are no subscriptions.

Budget (draft, prices checked 31 October 2026)

Item	€	Note
Neighbourhood radios, 20 × ≈ € 35 (board, case, charger)	700	for residents of the area
Repeater: radio, outdoor antenna, case, battery and solar panel	250	estimate
Gatherings and exercise (venue, printing, coffee)	300	estimate
Manual and publication	150	estimate
Outdoor socket for neighbourhood gatherings (own circuit, RCBO, normally off; certified installer)	350	estimate
Contingency (10 %)	175
Requested	1,925

Not in this application: the gate controller and the car fobs (the foundation's own funds), and the development of open software (applied for at the SIDN Fund).

Own investment by SBRR VI. The foundation itself invests about € 1,800 in the gate controller, the gateway and the radio link. That is partly for its own use (the gate), but the same infrastructure is in principle also a building block of the neighbourhood network: the gateway with its internet bridge, the radio set-up at the gate, the management organisation and the know-how. The gate buttons in the homes can double as neighbourhood radios.

Planning

Application at least 13 weeks before the start. After award: radios and repeater in the first three months, first gathering and exercise within six months, evaluation after one year and a report on DoeMee Zoetermeer.

Applicant. Stichting Beheer Rijstrook Rietvaart VI, Zoetermeer. Contact: ir. Jan B. Rhebergen, chair and secretary, sbrr-vi@rhebergen.net. Chamber of Commerce 27322857.