Village house Aagtekerke costs half a million euros more than expected

This is what the municipal executive of Veere writes to the municipal council. The Social Development Committee will meet tomorrow on a council proposal to make an additional €586,000 (VAT included) available for the construction of what is officially called ‘multifunctional housing’ (MFA) in Aagtekerke. The building should contain a village hall, a sports hall and a small health post.

The city council of Veere set aside 2.8 million euros in September 2021 for the construction of the MFA. Two contractors responded to a public call for tenders. The cheapest said he wanted to do it for 3.4 million euros. This is now a reason for B&W to ask the town hall for an additional amount.

According to the commission, the additional costs of building the health post can be recouped by charging higher rent to future users. Another part of the costs is covered by grants for sustainability measures. The MFA must become a very sustainable building.

The council warns the city council that if the additional credit is rejected, the expected quality of the MFA can no longer be guaranteed and the building becomes less sustainable. A new call for tenders is then also required. As a result, construction will not be able to start after the summer holidays according to plan. The Commission also fears that the prices of raw materials and construction materials will increase even more during a new tender.

The social development committee meeting is the last before a new B&W board of SGP, CU, Hart voor Veere (HVV) and VVD takes office on Thursday. The current municipal parties PvdA/GroenLinks, CDA and DTV will then take their place on the opposition benches. The new council will be made up of aldermen René de Visser (SGP), Bert Tuk (CU), Marcel Steketee (HVV) and Ruud van Houten (VVD). The latter becomes a part-time alderman. As an entrepreneur, Van Houten wants to continue devoting 30% of his time to his own businesses. It is remarkable that the parties have removed tasks from Mayor Rob van der Zwaag in the substantial division of portfolios. For Van der Zwaag, only his legal symbol remains: public order and security.