The renovation of Meppel’s town hall is being expanded by also tackling the council chamber. The town hall also has a new name. A majority of local politicians have approved this, despite the fact that it costs two million euros extra.
Last year, the renovation of the town hall and the municipal yard was approved, which will cost 6.3 million euros. Now 2 million euros will be added because the council chamber is also included in the plans and because there are already additional costs. The municipality thought it could reuse a lot of material, such as ceiling tiles. That appears not to be the case.
To reduce costs, the council chamber was removed from the plans last year at the request of local politicians. Mayor Arjen Maathuis sees that it is necessary to also tackle the council chamber, because it no longer meets the safety requirements. Only SP votes against the additional plans.
Mayor Arjen Maathuis previously explained why he believes the renovation is necessary: