Winter Weather: Closure of Buildings Due to Roof Load

In Deventer, several buildings will be closed starting Friday, January 9 at 8:00 PM. This precautionary measure is taken due to weather forecasts from Friday evening, which may be unfavorable for buildings with flat roofs that have accumulated snow from previous days.

Thawing can cause snow to compact, making it heavier. If it freezes again and more snow accumulates on top, the snow load can increase further. This can cause problems for buildings with flat roofs, as has been seen elsewhere in the country.

Therefore, the Municipality of Deventer has decided to close several of its buildings as a precaution starting Friday, January 9 at 8:00 PM. The timing of the closure is related to the weather forecast from Friday evening.

Alderman Rob de Geest (Real Estate): “Temporarily closing buildings has a significant impact on users. It is very inconvenient if you cannot play sports or attend a performance. Therefore, we have looked at how to minimize this inconvenience as much as possible. We are now only closing the buildings where we want to carefully check the roof situation.” 

The buildings may not be used at least until Sunday, January 11. Given the circumstances, it should be expected that the buildings may also remain closed on Monday. An inspection will be conducted to assess the condition of the roofs. Based on this inspection, it will be determined when each building can be used again.

Currently, this concerns 15 buildings, such as gymnasiums, community buildings, and buildings with social or cultural facilities.

For school buildings, the schools are responsible for the maintenance of their buildings. For this reason, the municipality advises schools to closely monitor the condition of their roofs.   

Tenants of the relevant buildings have been informed and asked to notify their users.

The buildings involved are:

• Gymnasium De Hoven – Langestraat 1, Deventer
• Gymnasium De Linde – Rubensslaan 6, Deventer
• Gymnasium De Schalm – Dreef 13, Deventer
• Gymnasium De Windroos – Duivengang 9, Deventer
• De Uutvlog – Prinses Margrietlaan 14, Bathmen
• Gymnasium Enkdwarsstraat – Enkdwarsstraat 2a, Deventer
• Gymnasium Het Roessink – Fonteinkruid 130, Deventer
• Kindcentrum Rivierenwijk (gymnasium) – Zaanstraat 1, Deventer
• Splithofstraat (main building and gymnasium) – Splithofstraat 1, Deventer
• Verbindingscentrum De Fontein – Fonteinkruid 61, Deventer
• Former De Windroos (flat roof only) – Bierstraat 54, Deventer
• Community building Mr. H.F. De Boerlaan 151/Havenplein 20, Deventer
• Activity center (flat roof only) – Bierstraat 52, Deventer
• Almira Zorg – Smyrnastraat 1a, Deventer
• Neighborhood and Playground Association District 16 – Zutphenselaan 18, Deventer