The city council wants to transform the current trotting track into an event area where concerts for more than 50,000 spectators can be held. Therefore, in the eyes of the municipality, there is no longer any room for harness racing. Equestrian enthusiasts are fighting that, because harness racing has been associated with events such as Kingsland and the Liberation Festival for years.
No political tension
Prior to the council meeting on Wednesday evening, the end of the harness sport already seemed a certainty. A majority of the council hinted last week that it supported the city council’s plan.
The coalition parties GroenLinks, PvdA, D66 and ChristenUnie supported their administrators, and Student and City also agreed to the plan. As a result, the planning process was never endangered. The opposition and coalition parties were diametrically opposed during the debate.
Involve neighborhood
The GroenLinks fraction finds the end of equestrian sports in the City Park regrettable for those involved, but would still like to see the trotting track disappear. ‘We have to look at what we are doing with the site as long as nothing happens,’ argues Jeffrey van Hoorn.
D66 wants the municipality especially to listen to the residents of the trotting track. The Democrats want local residents to be more involved in the planning process than is currently the case.
Six months extension
Yet it is D66 that, through Jim Lo A Njoe, asks for an extension of the harness sport in Groningen. ‘Is it possible to keep on racing until the first shovel goes into the ground for a fully-fledged event site?’ He asks the alderman.
Sports alderman Inge Jongman (ChristenUnie) does not want to make any promises about this, but will investigate whether the trotting club can remain in place a little longer than January 1, 2021. ‘But it is not expected to be longer than six months. Nevertheless, we do ask you to cancel the lease, ‘Jongman told the council members. That approval also came from a majority.
The harness sport must therefore leave the trotting track anyway from next year. Work on the event site is not yet underway; the municipality first wants to carry out additional research.
Attempted procrastination
The SP and Stadspartij made another attempt to postpone the decision-making. The opposition parties believe that a decision about the trotting track is too early, because a completed vision is not yet ready for the entire Stadspark, of which the trotting track is part.
However, the parties did not receive sufficient support. ‘Postponement is easy’, argues Wim Koks (SP). ‘With the corona virus, it is uncertain whether the events industry will pick up again.’ Furthermore, the socialists would have liked an independent inquiry into the plans. ‘Hallejula plans have already cost the municipality enough money, I recall the Infoversum.’
The CDA also asks for extra information: the Christian Democrats want a financial report. ‘We don’t know now what needs to be invested in harness racing. If it costs two million euros, there will probably be many parties that do not want that, ‘says René Bolle.
The VVD also lacks ‘proper substantiation’ for the figures. In addition, the party makes mincemeat of the underlying business plan around the event site.
‘Using festival width’
Event councilor Glimina Chakor (GroenLinks) reminds the council of the current function of the trotting track. ‘It was and remains an event site. We are now asking for much-needed investments in water supplies, electricity, etc. ‘
Despite the current corona crisis, events continue to exist. We think we can use this festival width to make changes to the site, ‘says Chakor.
Unreliable
The Stadspartij thinks that the municipal administrators are ‘killing the harness sport’. ‘An almost 100-year-old, loyal tenant is thrown into the street without discussing an alternative,’ says Amrut Sijbolts.
‘Residents and associations must rely on a reliable government’, but according to Sijbolts, the municipality does not show itself to be a reliable government in this case.
Motion of censure
The City Party, together with the PVV, submitted a motion of censure. In doing so, the parties disapproved of the commission’s approach.
That motion seemed to leave a deep mark on GroenLinks. When the motion was brought in, the party filed for suspension. ‘We are very shocked by this motion. Our sentiment is that this is totally exaggerated and extraordinarily strange, ‘said Benni Leemhuis as he continued the council meeting.
It is not yet known when the research into the realization of the event site will be ready.
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