The takeover of Ezinge education park by the municipality of Meppel seems to be a feasible plan. At least, that is the conclusion of an independent study commissioned by the municipality.
There are two secondary schools on the educational park, Stad & Esch and DCTerra. These schools also have a sports hall. In addition, Dingstede secondary school is also interested in moving to Ezinge.
The educational park was built in 2014 and is owned by Woonconcept, which in turn has placed it in a special organization. The municipality rents the school building from Stad & Esch and has concluded a 40-year lease contract for it. The municipality also rents a large part of the sports complex for the sports lessons that are given there for secondary education.
DCTerra then rents the building it is located in. Woonconcept rents out the rest of the gymnasium to the sports clubs that use it.
But all parties involved are not really satisfied with this entire construction. Education lacks flexibility to make its own choices in management and maintenance. Woonconcept has been indicating for some time that ‘owning and operating social real estate is not a core task’. The municipality is therefore tied to a 40-year lease, which becomes more expensive every year due to corrections due to inflation, for example.
A consultancy firm has investigated whether a takeover of the park by the municipality is feasible. That seems to be the case, and the municipality now wants to further develop this option. “For the sake of completeness: there has not yet been a final decision to take over,” the municipality writes. ‘Our aim is to make a final choice this calendar year.’
In addition, there is another development hanging over Ezinge. Dingstede has wanted to move there for years. The current school is struggling with aging. The municipality also hopes to present a proposal for this this year.
Perhaps building a completely new school to accommodate Dingstede is not necessary. DCTerra’s lease expires in 2029, and there is a chance that this building will become vacant after that. DCTerra also has school buildings elsewhere in Meppel and may want to concentrate all its education there.
“This part could possibly be used as an alternative to renovation of CSG Dingstede,” the municipality writes. ‘This must then be investigated to what extent the capacity and facilities meet the needs of the school.’
