The municipality of Meppel wants to sit down with the management of Puy du Fou to gain clarity about the decision not to build a theme park in Meppel. The municipality remains with many questions. Councilor Klaas de Vries is disappointed about the French withdrawal, but is proud of the way in which Meppel negotiated.
Around 2 p.m. this afternoon, an email from the management of Puy du Fou arrived at De Vries (Sterk Meppel). Message: there will be no theme park of sixty hectares north of Meppel. There was no clear why. De Vries suspects that it was a financial choice. This idea also exists in the province of Drenthe.
“It is the only point where there could be a difference of opinion. It is also a factor that we have no control over,” says De Vries. Meppel was more than happy to see the theme park about Dutch and European history. “We at Meppel have said from the start: no public funds will go to the theme park. I can imagine that their assessment was that they would get something.”
The French had several locations in Europe in mind for a new park. According to De Vries, no games were played with Meppel. In his previous job in the tow bar trade, he also often negotiated with French people. “You can only be sure that it will continue once the contract has been signed,” he says.
“As a government in the Netherlands, we are quite strict about what is and is not possible. We indicate what our limits are and the further you go in the negotiation process, the clearer it becomes what is allowed and what is not. Perhaps that played a role that the boundaries are too sharp for Puy du Fou. But that is a guess.”
The municipality hopes to be able to discuss the choices made with the French. “For learning and evaluation. We want to understand what underlies their choice.”
In 2019, the name Puy du Fou first appeared in the province of Drenthe, which was looking for a new major attraction. Meppel was also interested in it and discussions started during corona times. De Vries: “It is an initiative of the province that has landed with us. I look back proudly, I think that if such an initiative comes along again, we will assess it with the same energy and attitude.”
But for the time being there is no new initiative for a major attraction in Meppel. If that happens to the left or right, De Vries says he can make good use of the experience of the past period. He is proud of the process. “The first thing we did this afternoon was to approach and catch up with the residents directly involved. That is the most important thing. We have gone through a major process in an incredibly short time. And every time we have succeeded as a municipality in being transparent towards Puy du Fou, those involved and residents.”
Now that it is clear that there will be no theme park, other options are being put on the table for designing the area. The municipality sees the current agricultural area as a suitable location for an industrial estate and water storage.