A place for a secondary school, housing or just continue in this vein? Residents of Norg are asked to think about the future of De Brinkhof, the multifunctional center (mfc) in the heart of the village.
De Brinkhof was opened half a century ago. The well-known architect Cor Kalfsbeek – designer of a large number of buildings in Drenthe – created a multifunctional center in the heart of Norg. Many functions came together in this center. The Brinkhof housed the town hall of the former municipality of Norg, was (and is) the village hall and also houses the library. In addition, sports clubs make grateful use of the large sports hall of De Brinkhof.
But the building is outdated, says councilor Alex Wekema (PvdA/GroenLinks), among others. “The building must be made more sustainable in any case, we know that,” he says. He leaves it open as to what should happen next with De Brinkhof. “We want to hear from the Norger people first.”
Meijering has no complaints about the number of Norgers who managed to find their way to the meetings. “But unfortunately we saw few young people, while we wanted to hear from them,” he says. “Especially because we are now looking at a plan for the future.”
According to Meijering, it is time for something to happen at the MFC. “It is a loss-making building, from which we believe much more can be achieved,” he says. “That could be anything. The possibilities are there.”
Alderman Wekema agrees that De Brinkhof is making losses. “But that is often the case with buildings with such a social function,” he says. “It is not a priority for the municipality to make a profit from this.”
De Brinkhof is currently mainly home to companies and associations. Not so long ago, the Interest Association suggested that De Hekakker primary school should also move to De Brinkhof. The school itself did not want to do so and has been given the green light to rebuild at its current location, a few hundred meters away.
According to Meijering, this does not mean that there will be no school at De Brinkhof. Last summer it turned out that the high school in Norg (the Dr. Nassau College) would not be closed, but that another location in the village would be considered. “The Brinkhof would offer a solution,” thinks the Interest Association chairman.
But Meijering especially hopes to hear from fellow Norwegians what they want. “What we have now are dreams,” he says. “We invite everyone to dream and think about what we want with De Brinkhof.”
The Brinkhof meadow is also taken directly into account. This lawn, adjacent to the multifunctional center, is only used for events to a very limited extent. “We have a beautiful event area next to the village’s riding school,” says Meijering. “Then you can do something else on the Brinkhofweide. There isn’t often anything to do there anyway.”
Housing construction would be an option, according to the chairman of the Interest Association. Councilor Wekema knows that there were already plans. “That was years ago, when I was still on the city council,” he outlines. “We are also open to that. We are curious what the Norgers want.”