Action group ‘Red Zwembad De Smelte’ from Smilde has been working on a plan in recent months to prevent the pool from closing. The group wants the pool to become a “regional, low-incentive and inclusive swimming center” with “great social value” in the future.
The group writes online that residents, volunteers, board members, healthcare institutions, schools and professionals have worked on the vision of the future that they want to send to the municipality of Midden-Drenthe next week.
At the end of last year, a political majority voted in favor of closing the swimming pool. The bath from the seventies is very outdated and almost everything needs to be replaced. The decision led to many reactions and fierce resistance in the village. After the municipality subsequently conducted independent research, it turned out that 4.5 million euros were needed to keep De Smelte open.
Around the same time, a working group was started consisting of, among others, the local swimming club, residents’ platform Smilde and the action group.
“A group of volunteers is asked to present a future-proof and financially substantiated plan for a facility of great social significance. We do this with full dedication, but without the specialist knowledge that is normally used for such issues,” says Red Zwembad De Smelte.
The deadline for the plan is June 15, according to the group. “In the coming days we will be finalizing our proposal and we will substantiate as clearly as possible the choices we make and the associated financial effects.” As a side note, they write that the financial plans cannot provide complete certainty, because they were dependent on figures provided by the municipality.
In addition, the action group emphasizes that the process has taken a lot of time from volunteers. “In recent months, in addition to our work, family and other responsibilities, we have put countless hours into this. Not because we had to, but because we believe in the importance of De Smelte for Smilde and the region.”
Ultimately, it is up to the municipality to determine what will happen with the plan. Midden-Drenthe previously announced that the scenarios that the research agency came up with (maintain, optimize, divest or close) will be further developed for the second quarter of this year.