“But we are combative,” said a delighted Joop van Overbeek. Together with Marieke Janzen, he is part of what he calls a ‘concerned citizens’ committee’. Their goal: the preservation of the De Singel neighborhood center.
The unrest around the community center has been going on for years. The municipality wants to renovate the building and, above all, make it more sustainable. According to Joop and Marieke, this threatens not only a reduction in the size of the center, but also the possible disappearance of the stage, an important place for associations and performances.
The Singel is open an average of 65 hours a week and hosts a wide range of activities. An estimated 10,000 residents find their way to the center every year. About 300 different people participate in activities every week. “Theatre, music, singing, dancing, coming together for lonely people,” Joop sums up. “In short, the heart of the Edam community.”
However, Joop and Marieke have the feeling that Edam is not always at the forefront within the municipality of Edam-Volendam. According to them, the village is still too often the neglected child. With their committee they therefore try to protect the facilities in Edam and prevent activities from shifting further towards Volendam.
From library to circulation desk
De Singel is not the only cause for concern. The library in the Neighborhood Support Center in Edam will also close at the end of 2026. The intention is for it to return later to the newly built De Trimaran primary school, at the De Piramide location. There will then be a smaller library in the form of a circulation desk.
However, the new school is not there yet. Until then, Edam residents with a library card have to rely on the branch in Volendam. “The branches are about 5 minutes by bike from each other,” the municipality responds when asked.
“But it is much more than a counter where people borrow books,” says Sean Tol, group leader of GroenLinks in Edam-Volendam. He believes that the human aspects of these facilities are overlooked in the discussion. “And that is now at the expense of places such as De Singel or the library.”
Quite a puzzle to put together
The municipality of Edam-Volendam says it understands the unrest that the changes are causing among residents, clubs and associations. “But there is no question of impoverishment,” the municipality emphasizes. “The fact is that all facilities and activities will be maintained. We just have to be more creative and effective with our municipal buildings. It is quite a puzzle to streamline all developments in such a way that there are no gaps in available buildings.”
The municipality also emphasizes that the library facility remains accessible to residents. “But for a limited period of time, only in the center of Volendam.”
