Not to the Hoofdstraat, but away from the Kerkstraat?
Local-O seems lost in the puzzle that Baarn puts together with municipal real estate. In November 2021, the city council decided that the Poorthuis on Kerkstraat is only suitable for education or housing. Despite the efforts of the local party BOP, an overwhelming majority of the council saw nothing in a social function for the municipal building. A new home had to be found for Lokaal-O and a number of other social organizations.
At the time, the Eemland library on the Hoofdstraat had been working on a plan to move in with theater De Speeldoos for years. Until last autumn, Lokaal-O worked with the municipality and the other institutions on a new use for the library building. The municipality budgeted 3.5 million euros for the so-called ‘Brinkhuis’ in which they would permanently reside.
But in February of this year, the city council pulled the plug on the relocation of the library. Too expensive and undesirable, a council majority decided after eight years of deliberation. The library will remain where it is for now. And now that the council is considering education in the Poorthuis this month, the future for Lokaal-O has become extremely uncertain.