ASML is allowed to expand near neighborhood despite complaints from residents

Chip manufacturer ASML is allowed to continue its expansion plans near a neighborhood in Veldhoven. Two residents of the area had challenged the zoning plans before the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State. They are concerned about noise and traffic disruption.

The case was about the zoning plans for De Run 7000. That is an area between de Kempenbaan in Veldhoven and the motorway A67, of which a part is already used by ASML. The company wants to build so-called clean rooms, spaces where even the smallest dust particles are purified from the air. ASML intends to produce its newest chip machines in this area. The Veldhoven municipal council approved the zoning plans at the end of 2022.

The residents who resisted the plans live north of the ASML grounds on the other side of the Kempenbaan. Among other things, they wanted the new building to be built partly underground so that the buildings would be less tall. But that is not possible according to the Council of State. "ASML's business process is such that machines are made with unprecedented refinement and associated sensitivity. It is precisely for this reason that all ASML production areas are located at the same height," said the judge.

The Administrative Jurisdiction Division also thinks that the sound disturbances will remain under control. The judge referred to the loud noises coming from traffic on the Kempenbaan and the A67.

"The noise level resulting from ASML's activities and installations is masked by the noise level resulting from road traffic" on these roads in particular, the judge said.