The town hall in Zuidhorn cannot be expanded. This is evident a year and a half after the decision to make Zuidhorn the administrative heart of the municipality of Westerkwartier. Where should the officials go?
Yet no expansion for the town hall in Zuidhorn, which was to form the administrative heart of the municipality of Westerkwartier. All expansion options appear to be unfeasible. This means that the city council must again consider central housing.
Central location in Zuidhorn
After the municipal reorganization of 2019, the municipality of Westerkwartier had four town halls: in Zuidhorn, Marum, Leek and Grootegast. That had to change, the council members thought. There had to be a central location. This saves heating costs and only one location needs to be made more sustainable. In addition, the sale of the other town halls provides income. So win-win, you might say.
After much deliberation, the council members opted for an expansion of the town hall in Zuidhorn in the summer of 2022. Nearly 200 civil servants already worked there, and with the expansion another 100 would be added.
The choice for Zuidhorn was striking because the largest center, namely Leek, was not chosen. In the period that followed, the town hall in Leek was sold and a sustainable residential area was built on that site. A new design has also been considered for the other locations in Marum and Grootegast. But the municipality kept this until the central housing was completed.
Parking lot or campus model not feasible
Now that there are already other plans for Leek, Zuidhorn appears not to be the right place for a larger town hall at all. None of the five different options, including building on the parking lot or in the form of a campus with nearby buildings, is feasible.
The question remains where the municipality will now house itself. Maybe somewhere else in Zuidhorn? Or back to another town hall?
As a result, the city council is back to square one. “The desire to centrally house our employees continues to exist,” says councilor Bert Nederveen. But the question remains where that will happen. What is certain is that the city council will have to consider a plan again in March.