Drenthe’s week: paid parking at the Blauwe Meer and millions for a roof over the velodrome

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The week is almost over, time to look back on what happened last week. It ranged from a retiring mayor to German holidaymakers.

Below you will find an overview of the most important events of last week.

On Monday, an advance was made on the farewell of Karel Loohuis, mayor of the municipality of Hoogeveen. This weekend he will still keep an eye on the Easter fires, but after that he will take off his chain of office.

The mayor will especially miss the contact with the residents. “Often fun conversations, but sometimes also emotional or difficult conversations. It was all part of it and I liked that. It has enriched my life, I always say.”

Drinking, drugs and traffic problems at the Blauwe Meer behind Hoogersmilde should soon be a thing of the past, it was announced on Tuesday. Natuurmonumenten is renovating everything.

For example, there will be a barrier with paid parking, more parking spaces and a new operator is being sought for the kiosk. According to Natuurmonumenten, the measures are necessary to make the area safe, clean and attractive.

The children of IKC De Duinstee in Yde receive trees to make their schoolyard greener. The ground was broken there on Wednesday.

But behind the festive ‘planting day’ lies a modest soap opera that gave the initiators several hiccups. Ultimately, it took six months before the trees could actually be planted.

Assen must get a roof over the velodrome with a sports campus for 375 MBO students from Drenthe College and Alfa College. This will cost 9 million euros, it became clear on Thursday.

The municipality has been struggling with the cycling track at Stadsbroek for some time. Without a roof the track will not last long. The wet weather affects the wooden track. The cycling center will have a second floor for classrooms and catering, with a view over the cycling track. The city council will discuss it at the end of May.

The recreational season has started again and expectations are high. Last year, Drenthe had the largest increase in the number of foreign tourists in the Netherlands, with an increase of 50 percent. Germans in particular are increasingly finding their way to Drenthe.

“85 percent of foreign visitors come from Germany,” says Astrid Krum, director of Marketing Drenthe. “As Marketing Drenthe, we have conducted campaigns to get the Germans here, but we also see that Drenthe companies advertise in Germany. And that works.”