Bad Hesselingen will certainly need millions in the coming years to continue to exist. This is evident from a study into the future that Synarchis conducted for the swimming pool and the climbing park.
Synarchis investigated three future scenarios. Firstly, maintaining the existing swimming pool. The second scenario involves renovation, expansion and adjustment of the swimming pool. The third variant provides for new construction.
All these variants will cost millions of euros over the next twenty years. The municipality of Meppel has to spend a lot of money for maintenance of the existing swimming pool, without leaving room for growth. The annual municipal contribution should increase from 510,000 euros to 855,000 euros.
That probably doesn’t mean Bad Hesselingen is there yet, because with a building from 1968, unforeseen maintenance due to concrete rot and subsidence must always be taken into account.
Fourth scenario
Councilor Klaas de Vries of the municipality of Meppel came up with a fourth scenario in an interview last month about the French theme park Puy du Fou. De Vries said that a hotel will be needed on or near the French park that is to be built north of the city along the highway. He sees advantages in this. For example, such a hotel could be equipped with wellness and a swimming pool, which would also be accessible to non-visitors. It would save the municipality a significant investment in the current Bad Hesselingen, paraphrasing Dagblad van het Noorden the councilor. “This way we can work together,” says De Vries. The councilor’s reasoning was completely wrong with the swimming pool management. When the councilor made his statements, the report had been at the town hall for some time, without the swimming pool management having received a response.
Subsidence
For example, significant costs have been incurred recently due to the consequences of land subsidence. Major renovations and replacements are planned in the coming years, including tackling concrete rot, replacing pipework and replacing various installation parts.
The second option (renovation and expansion) seems more attractive, but requires an investment of more than 11 million euros. This scenario also has the disadvantage of a fundamentally outdated accommodation with the associated risks. Another disadvantage is that the thorough renovation leads to a temporary decommissioning of Bad Hesselingen.
34 million
New construction requires an even greater investment. With more than 34 million euros, Meppel would be assured of a new, sustainable accommodation for the next 40 to 50 years, according to Synarchis.