By means of: Joep Bbrakers
6 minutes ago
General
VLISSINGEN – Omroep Zeeland will definitely not go to the Machine Factory, but will remain in the municipality of Vlissingen. The new location of Omroep Zeeland will be the former Rijkswaterstaat site on the Prins Hendrikweg, between the Keersluis Bridge and the marina. The broadcaster announced this today. According to broadcasting director Mike Ackermans, the current accommodation in Kanaalstraat in Oost-Souburg no longer meets current requirements. “The building is dated and the options here are too limited for us,” Ackermans told this newspaper last year. “There is also some overdue maintenance and if we had to adapt this building to current requirements, we would have to invest enormously. A lot is changing in the broadcasting world and we will no longer realize that here.”
It had been known for some time that Omroep Zeeland was looking for new accommodation. When the first plans were presented in February for a cultural development of part of the Machine Factory, the broadcaster was one of five candidates that were seen as promising. But a few days after the presentation of the intentions at the municipal council meeting of February 20, the broadcaster itself reported that a move to the Machine Factory was still ‘far from certain’. Omroep Zeeland now announces that project developer Kennedy West from Hulst will build the new home of Omroep Zeeland.
Airplane factory
The move of Omroep Zeeland to the Prins Hendrikweg not only has consequences for the cultural interpretation of part of the Machine Factory. The new construction on Prins Hendrikweg also puts an end to Wesley Sekewael’s plans to rebuild the aircraft factory of the Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde on part of this plot. Sekewael, with his Stoomhijskraan Schelde 38 Foundation, previously restored the steam crane that is now located at Museum Scheldewerf. At the request of the municipality of Vlissingen, the foundation took care of the steel trusses of the monumental aircraft factory built in 1919 on Koningsweg in 2007. When this building was demolished, the trusses were saved from destruction with the idea of rebuilding the aircraft factory in Vlissingen. The intended location was part of the plot where the new broadcasting building will now be located. According to Sekewael, there have been discussions with Kennedy West, but these have not resulted in the desired result.
Kanaalstraat 64
Since its founding in 1990, Omroep Zeeland has been located in the former town hall of West and East Souburg at Kanaalstraat 64. According to Jack Schinkel, secretary of the Souburg Village Council, the broadcaster’s departure from the village is twofold. “On the one hand, it is of course good for the image of East Souburg that we have a broadcaster here. Not every village has that. But it is also a solution to the parking problems in and around Kanaalstraat. The employees park their cars there, including at the new gym in Braamstraat, and that causes problems. It will soon be easier to park with an entrepreneur in Kanaalstraat and in any case for local residents. Furthermore, the broadcaster does not do much for the village, they do their shopping there, but that is about it.” The village council also has ideas about the broadcaster’s building, which will eventually become vacant. Schinkel: “It has of course been known for some time that the broadcaster was looking for a new location, so we have already thought about that as a village council. It would lend itself well as a multifunctional center because there is nothing left in Souburg: the cafes are closed, the library is gone, the Zwaantje is for sale and so on. The local police officer is holding consultation hours in a bed shop this week, which says enough.” It remains to be seen whether the former town hall of Souburg will indeed be given such a destination. The building has been sold to project developer Kennedy West, the broadcaster reports on its website. Moreover, it will take some time before Omroep Zeeland actually presents radio and television programs from the Prins Hendrikweg. First, the buildings that previously belonged to Rijkswaterstaat must be demolished before new construction can begin. If everything goes according to plan, the broadcaster will move to Prins Hendrikweg in 2026.
