The municipality of Hoogeveen has bought association building De Open Deur in Elim, the building will serve as a village hall. The current village hall ‘t Vonder will be put up for sale.
The Open Door was owned by the Hervormde Gemeente in the village and already served as a village hall, next to ‘t Vonder. The latter is officially registered as a village hall and is owned by the municipality of Hoogeveen.
Hoogeveen pays 320,000 euros for the building, plus another 8,000 euros for inventory and other costs.
The municipality hopes to recoup part of the investment by selling ‘t Vonder. It is not yet known what will come in or on the site of the superfluous village hall.
Local Interest Elim asked the municipality to turn De Open Deur into the village hall. Partly because of the larger halls that can be used for theater performances and funerals.
The municipality commissioned research and entered into discussions and has now concluded that De Open Deur is indeed the best option for the future of a village hall in Elim.
“A new Stichting Dorpshuis Elim has been established. The board will consist of, among others, Local Interest Elim and former board members of ‘t Vonder”, the municipal council reports. “The Foundation is responsible for a cost-effective operation of the Village Hall Elim.” As for other village halls, an annual contribution from the municipality is available.
The new village hall is still awaiting renovation. Almost 90,000 euros will be released from a provincial fund, other costs will be borne by the foundation.
“A challenge,” says Jan Benjamins, chairman of Local Interest Elim. He expects that several tons will be needed to approach the central location. “The wish has come true, but now we have to raise money for the renovation. We are going to completely renovate and rebuild it. It is an ‘authentic’ building.”
The money must be brought together through grants, funds and sponsors. Activities can still take place in ‘t Vonder during the renovation.