Alderman Emmen is anything but enthusiastic about the plan for additional apartments for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Noordbarge

He announced this on Monday evening during a committee meeting in the town hall after questions from CDA councilor Dirk van Dijken. According to the alderman, such a complex is not desirable in this location due to its size. “A beautiful piece of Noordbarge has become available and let’s organize it in a way that suits Noordbarge. So not something massive like an apartment building.”

The plans were announced at the end of last year by Emmer project developer Peter van Dijk. He wanted to build thirty apartments for the Jehovah’s Witnesses and three spacious farm houses for private individuals on the former site of Terra’s MBO training course, he made it clear. The Jehovah’s already have a large complex at their disposal nearby.

Rate change

Two years earlier, Van Dijk, together with the company Bemog from Zwolle, had other plans for the site in the village on the edge of the Emmer center: the twelve spacious farm and barn houses. In the first six months after the presentation, about ninety enthusiasts registered. No asking prices were known at the time. Due to the sharply rising construction costs and increased interest rates, it now appears that these houses will cost around 1.4 million euros.

Van Dijk assumes that he will not lose the homes with such asking prices and therefore changed course. According to him, criticism of the intended access to the new neighborhood from Noordbarge also played a role in the change of course. In January it was announced that Van Dijk has now sold the proposed site of approximately 7,000 square meters to the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Mixed feelings

Local Interest took note of this with mixed feelings. She can manage with the construction of three houses, but she is not happy with additional apartments for the Jehovah’s Witnesses. “That means another building behind a Jehovah’s fence that is of no use to the village,” secretary Sikko Boelema said.