A long-cherished wish of many people in the Emmer district of Delftlanden will come true this autumn. Construction of a new building for both primary schools will then begin. A gymnasium is also being built in the neighborhood and a supermarket appears to be on the way.
The Delftlanden is the youngest district of Emmen. In October 2006, then mayor Cees Bijl welcomed the first residents. Nearly three years later, the doors of the two primary schools in the neighborhood opened at De Zandzoom: OBS Delftlanden and the Christian primary school Het Talent. They were given a place in one semi-permanent building, with one main entrance and one schoolyard. The estimate was that the schools would find a permanent home after about five years.
That took longer than expected. In fact, it still hasn’t happened yet. This was largely due to the disappointing sales of homes in De Delftlanden. However, in recent years there has been good momentum in this regard, which has also resulted in an increase in the number of children in schools. In mid-2022, it was necessary to install an additional emergency room at both OBS Delftlanden and Het Talent.
One shared main entrance
At that time, there were already plans to invest in permanent housing for education in De Delftlanden. Work has now also been done behind the scenes. The architectural firm Maas Kristinsson, with offices in Zeist and Lochem, has completed a design that will be presented next month. The plan is to start construction this fall and put the new facility into use at the end of 2025.
Implementation of the plans will cost more than 7.2 million euros, including VAT. The new building will be located close to the current location of the two schools and will accommodate both preschools. There will be one shared main entrance, with separate entrances for each school. A gymnasium is also being built. These costs are estimated at more than 2.3 million euros, excluding VAT, as can be read in the budget.
Supermarket
In addition to a ‘real’ school building and a gymnasium, De Delftlanden now also appears to be getting its first shop(s). Last year, five parties registered with the municipality of Emmen that wanted to build and/or operate a supermarket there, as well as other retail businesses. The municipality has a piece of land available for this purpose on Zandzoom, a relatively short distance from the schools.
A maximum of 1,500 square meters is available for the supermarket, and 933 square meters for other stores. The municipality cannot yet announce what and who exactly will come. “The procedure is still ongoing,” said the municipality spokeswoman.