The Marechaussee barracks and associated horse stables in Eexterveenschekanaal, which are more than a hundred years old, will not be thoroughly restored for the time being. The Vereniging Dorpsbelangen Eexterveenschekanaal is forced to cancel a plan to have the national monuments refurbished.
The barracks are now divided into three houses, all owned by private individuals. According to the village association, an investor who wanted to buy and restore the entire building has withdrawn.
“One of the owners of the houses in the barracks has sold his two houses to another, despite the fact that he said he wanted to cooperate with the sale to the investor,” says village interest chairman Thijs Kroontje. “Unfortunately, the takeover failed because of that.”
The exterior of the monumental barracks and horse stable has not been well maintained for years. There are holes in the wooden roof construction, paint is peeling off the window frames, the roof is leaking and walls are torn. A great shame, says the village interest group, because the monuments are two of the few historic buildings that the village has.
The association therefore hopes that the municipality of Aa en Hunze will intervene and discuss restoration with the owners. According to Dorpsbelangen, Aa en Hunze has taken too little action so far, while the association has complained to the municipality about it.
The maintenance of national monuments is the responsibility of the owner of the building, explains monument coach Henrieke van Eerten of the Restoration Fund. “But municipalities do have a maintenance obligation. A building must be wind and watertight. If that is not the case, the municipality can oblige the owner of the monument to do something about it.”
Van Eerten has little message to property owners who say that they cannot restore their monumental building because it costs too much money. There are several grants they can apply for. It is true that in many cases owners also have to pre-finance part of the money, but according to the monument coach, there are also various arrangements for this.
“They don’t have many reasons not to restore their monument. Owners can simply use government subsidies. Usually it’s unwillingness, because you have to draw up a plan and go to the municipality for a permit. Not everyone is waiting for that.” says Van Eerten.
According to the municipality, a representative of the owners was discussed last year about the future of the homes in the barracks and the former horse stable. “This has not yet led to a concrete plan. The monumental status of the buildings and the associated obligations were explicitly discussed during the consultation,” the municipality said in a response.
“We are aware of concerns about the state of the building and that is why it is important that it is put back on the agenda. We would like to find a good solution with those involved,” say Aa and Hunze.
The owners of the homes in the barracks could not be reached for a response or have indicated that they do not wish to do so.