A group of Anloo residents who are committed to preserving the Homanshof information center have a good feeling about the last council meeting of Aa and Hunze. Several parties in the council are in favor of keeping the center open, but the residents themselves have to do something for that.
Staatsbosbeheer owns the information center in Anloo and wants to sell the monumental farm. A great shame, says the Behoud Homanshof support group. The farm now includes an interactive information center, a tearoom and an exhibition about a hiding place in the area.
It is unthinkable for the group of residents that the tourist attraction will disappear from Anloo. The building has already lost its function as a village hall. For the support group it is inconceivable that the historical, cultural, educational and recreational function will also disappear. “The quality of life of Anloo is at stake,” the group writes in a letter to the municipality.
That message has reached the city council. During last night’s council meeting, GroenLinks in particular was in favor of preserving the Homanshof. “We believe that this special facility in Anloo should not be lost,” says councilor Marie-Claire Neesen. She calls on the alderman to reserve an amount in the budget so that the municipality can help preserve the farm.
Alderman Ivo Berghuis (Municipal Interests) remains somewhat cautious and does not want to make any promises about a possible purchase of the farm. He has already conveyed that message to the inhabitants.
“We would like to talk to the support group again, but we think it is important that there is a good and concrete plan underneath. If that is the case, you can talk about it with each other.” According to the alderman, the municipality will certainly not buy the building on its own.
You probably don’t have to. Stichting Het Drentse Landschap is interested in taking over the farm. The foundation just does not have the financial resources to buy the property, so the owner Staatsbosbeheer would have to give a dowry, director Sonja van der Meer said earlier to the Dagblad van het Noorden.
All in all, we can work with the outcome of the council meeting, says support group member Lucienne van der Boor. “We are very happy, because we feel supported by the city council. We are now going to work with the advice to draw up a budget and put everything clearly on paper”