The bankruptcy application of the Veenpark in Barger-Compascuum unexpectedly comes for the municipality of Emmen. “We were still talking about a possible solution,” said Alderman Pascal Schrik (Wakker Emmen).
“Of course the park has not been going so well for a longer time,” says Schrik. “That is why we had intensified the conversations with the park to come to a future -proof solution together.”
This morning it was announced that the Veenpark applied for bankruptcy. According to director Harry Keuter, the financial situation would become untenable if the Veenpark continues. “We have done everything we can to keep the park running, but the combination of an unexpected setback and direct payment obligation left no other choice.”
The biggest problem is a subsidy of 120,000 euros, which the park has to pay back to the province of Drenthe. Also for the second half of the year, the park will not receive a subsidy from the province. This ensures a sudden gap in the budget that cannot be sealed in the short term.
The municipality of Emmen wanted the Veenpark to continue to exist. “The use of the conversations between the municipality and the park was the preservation of the park,” the alderman said. “There are more than 40,000 visitors every year and many volunteers work with soul and salvation. That is why it was very important for the municipality to keep the Veenpark up. In addition, there was a unanimous motion of the city council in July to do everything to maintain the Veenpark.”
Emmen invested around 300,000 euros in the Veenpark. Schrik says that the municipality will investigate whether the park should repay this amount. Sometime between September and October the municipality draws its conclusions about this.
The province of Drenthe said in a response that they regret the application for the bankruptcy. At the same time, she does not want to anticipate things and the province awaits what possible consequences the bankruptcy has.
“The province believes it is important that the story of the peat remains, because it is an important part of Drenthe history. That is why it is also included in the Cultuurnota. Telling the story about the peat is possible in various ways. We will first have to wait and see how things will go after the bankruptcy has been pronounced,” said the province.