The medieval castle in Wedde will absolutely not be sold to a private individual if it is up to Westerwolde councilor Henk van der Goot.
“We want to be sure that this building, with its rich history, whether or not partly has a public function, that people from Wedde and elsewhere can go there,” he says. “A new private owner who will use it as a home, no, we don’t want that.”
Partly as a children’s hotel
The Castle has been managed for years by a foundation that partly uses it as a children’s hotel: less fortunate boys and girls can enjoy a free holiday there thanks to donations. The building is also part museum.
However, the municipality is the owner and has put it, along with many other buildings, on a list of possible real estate to be disposed of. Westerwolde wants to save millions on maintenance of that property. “We currently spend four million a year, we want to go to two million,” says Van der Goot.
Battle of Heiligerlee
The fact that the Castle was put on the list has already caused quite a stir within the municipal council. Some politicians are not happy that the municipality may be handing over a building with such a great history (the Burcht was the administrative center of Westerwolde for centuries and the place from which the Orangist troops marched in 1568 to subsequently win the Battle of Heiligerlee). will become.
The news has also attracted several private prospective buyers, says Van der Goot. “Capable candidates who wanted to acquire it. But we said no to that. If an organization or foundation comes forward that guarantees that it will maintain its public function, we want to talk. In any case, we will have to go to the current administrators. They have first right of purchase.”
Wedde village council
Director Geert Dekker of the Wedde Village Council, who is committed to local quality of life, is happy with Van der Goot’s commitment. “The Castle must remain part of the village, in the sense that the residents can go there,” he says.
De Burcht is not the only concern of the Village Council. The municipality has also put the community center and the gymnasium of the public school in Wedde on the list of possible buildings to be disposed of. Just like the former and now vacant town hall. The village council directors expressed their concerns about the future of those facilities last week during a visit by municipal officials to the village.
Gymnasium and community center
“Our aim is to keep the gymnasium and the community center as a facility, but in such a way that we no longer have the costs for the buildings,” says Van der Goot. “You can think of privatization at the community center. We plan to hire an expert who will look at how we can best achieve this in the coming year. Not only in Wedde but also in other villages where we have put real estate on that list.”