“It is a choice between two evils: industry on the one hand and theme park on the other,” says Anouk de Vlieg, leader of GroenLinks. The party is so far the only one that has openly spoken out against the arrival of the park. “It’s great that Meppel is being looked at for a location and that it is possible here,” responds Rob Klok on behalf of ChristenUnie. “It looks promising.”
That does not mean that the Christian Union will blindly choose it. “If we choose this, how much room do we have for other investments?” is one of the questions the party still has. And this also applies to other parties that are positive about the development.
“There are many interests involved in this story, they all have to be weighed up. That will be a tough task for us as a municipal council,” predicts D66 member Arnoud de Vos. “In all our dreams for a more beautiful Meppel, we could not have imagined this,” says Klaas-Jan Dunnink on behalf of the CDA.
It has not yet been confirmed that there will be a theme park in Meppel. Besides the fact that the municipal council still has to decide on it, there are still plenty of discussions going on behind the scenes between the municipality and Puy du Fou.
In addition, the land intended for the park is now largely owned by private individuals. About 25 people live in the area, including a number of dairy farmers. One of them is Rudolf Stapel, who also addressed the city council. He expressed, among other things, his criticism of the input from the area.
As far as the Christian Union is concerned, it does not stop at participation with the area itself. “We need to participate much more broadly. With the entire municipality, with multiple target groups,” says Rob Klok of the ChristenUnie. An idea such as a citizens’ forum was also mentioned several times in the council. “The theme park is causing a stir in Meppel,” notes Anouk de Vlieg (GroenLinks). “Why don’t we ask the residents whether they are looking forward to it or not?”
Residents recently expressed their concerns about the theme park to RTV Drenthe: