A fiery plea for a roof on the cycling track, has not yet ignited the holy fire at Politiek Assen. Council fractions mainly look at each other. Whoever dares to throw the bat in the hen house, and to put the mayor and aldermen to work for the umpteenth time with the controversial roof. Because the wooden compartment lane on Stadsbroek can be covered, that remains a difficult case.
It has not been the fiery plea by NOS sports reporter Herbert Dijkstra, himself former skater, former cyclist, and also driven former sports teacher. Tonight he told the Asser Politiek that they commit a historical error, if they let the unprotected Kombaan rot away, or even demolish it. “Then you will go wrong for the second time. The ice rink has also been wasted,” was his warning.
According to Dijkstra, Assen is only too happy to call himself ‘sports city’. But he sees it as an empty title, if the city does not want to invest some money in a roof above the cycling track, which has been there since 2016. “What is going on with Assen. First, 25 years of meetings are being done before that job can get there. And then ten years is needed to get a roof above it. I think all that meetings together costs more than a roof,” was Dijkstra’s plea, in order to bring politics to ‘repentance’.
‘Vailful insight’ could be the statement of Assen, according to Dijkstra, to cooperate in the new, cheaper building plan of Stichting Wielercentrum Assen (SWA). It is a closed roof above the Kombaan, with sides that can close via an electrical system. And that for 1.4 million euros.
With 3 tons of saved money from the cycling foundation itself, 2 tons from the province of Drenthe, and 2 tons of government money, according to SWA, only 7 tons of Assen are needed. “That’s a completely different amount than the price of 3.5 million for the plan that was still on the table last year, and what was shot,” SWA chairman Ger Heeringa told the council.
But no matter how the duo tried to get the roof on it, according to the council fractions, the issue was not the case tonight. The city council spoke about a follow -up investigation into a sports campus on Stadsbroek. A roof above the cycling track is ‘passed station’. That was fired last year with a large majority. Not a sports campus.
But D66 and PvdA turned out to be sensitive. Certainly the much lower investment amount she sounds good. D66’er Dorien from the side as the first enthusiastic. “It sounds like a nice feasible and affordable plan. We see something in it, and demolition costs more.” Very sin, says D66. She would prefer the college to work with it.
But he doesn’t. Sports alderman Albert Smit (Assen Central) would not want to burn his fingers for the second time. PvdA, who still voted away the roof that cost 3.5 million euros last year, now seemed to have had ears. “This amount of money of 7 tons is of a completely different order. But I don’t know what we think of this plan, because this is new to us.” The PvdA first wants to see more of the plan. “It sounds so unrealistic, such a big difference in amounts,” says Willard Bouwmeester.
After the fired fire over the much -needed roof, “otherwise the wooden track,” a smokescreen remained after the council meeting. There is a good chance that D66 will take the lead, “if there are several parties”, and put together a motion with the call that the college will start working with the roof.
But whether such a motion will make it? For Stadspartij Plop, ChristenUnie, SP, CDA and GroenLinks, such a roof still does not have to be done. Regardless of the price, although it seems much cheaper now. “Passed station,” says Plop. “Last year there was already a blow, and that was not a roof,” said SP. ChristenUnie also sees ‘no salvation’. This means that these three coalition parties are just like the competition as last May, when the roof was shot.
GroenLinks councilor Sjoerd Bakker wonders whether the city council is still taking himself seriously. “Now talk about a roof again, with that you undermine last year’s council decision,” he says. “We were not in favor of it, and not yet.” The VVD, in favor of both a sports campus and a roof above the cycling track last year, keeps its powder dry for a while. “We’ll see what is coming and who comes with it.”
Assen Centraal, last year the most enthusiastic about the roof, is now for sure. “It would be a shame if you didn’t do it for this money. That would be a missed opportunity,” says Jan Talens party leader. Whose fear, by the way, is in danger of becoming true. Because a council majority is not nearly. Or a miracle must be done.