Concerns of clubs regarding space in Brinkhuis after the arrival of the municipal council: “Community house or town hall?

There are major concerns about the possibility of continuing to offer yoga, Pilates, gym, ballet and exercise for the elderly. The seven different clubs have been able to use the drill halls for a long time. This will change when the city council moves to the building at Brink 29. The town hall at Eemnesserweg is put up for sale and the mayor and aldermen come to the socio-cultural meeting place in the middle of the village. This is the decision of last January.

small clubs

About a floor and a half is needed for this new tenant. For smaller clubs, this would mean that they would have to offer their activities in a different space. According to Pilates teacher Artine van den Engel, spokesperson for the seven clubs, this means making choices, as there is not much room left for everyone once the city council moves into the Hart van Laren. .

“Some of these activities will disappear, because we cannot all go to the theater together, as promised”, declared the speaker during the Committee Society and Finances.

According to Van den Engel, the seven clubs attract around 200 people to the Brinkhuis every week. They risk losing their lessons and their family accommodation, even though the college has promised that there is and will remain room for all the clubs. She sees that the proposed alternative will cause problems.

To select

“How realistic is it for a theater to also be an exercise and meeting room? she wonders. It will not be both and, but one or the other. “How will the choice be made? Which is more important; exercise for the elderly or theater for children? About 200 participants will disappear. They will make room for five to six members of the municipal council.”

According to the Pilates teacher, the arrival of the city council also creates a barrier. According to her, the Brinkhuis is now a lively center full of cultural, sporting and social activities. If it is also the office of the city council, some residents will be less inclined to enter. She believes that the accessibility and the low threshold of this socio-cultural meeting place are on the decline.

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Additionally, the Brinkhuis is designed as a community hall, not a disguised town hall, as visitor Miriam Brooks told the committee. Like Van den Engel, the speaker fears that the function of the Brinkhuis will change.

Review or investigation

Both ladies indicate a complete lack of participation. According to them, the Laarders were not asked to give their opinion on the move to the socio-cultural meeting place. Van den Engel therefore requests a review of the decision. And if not, a study on an alternative to housing for newcomers. “You can always go either way,” is his comment.

The aldermen Jan den Dunnen and Peter Calis independently point out that it is absolutely not planned for the clubs to leave the Brinkhuis. The municipal executive has promised that there must be room for all associations in the building at 29 Brink. They believe that the acting director of the Brinkhuis has offered a good and adequate alternative with the theater hall. In addition, it solves the structural under-occupation of the halls.

Puzzle

But, confirm the directors, the enigma is more difficult to solve than one would think. The municipality is in talks with the parish to also lease the adjacent youth club. It could also provide space for clubs. “The timing and its implementation are not the responsibility of the management, but of the board of directors of the Brinkhuis”, says Den Dunnen.