New school building and new sports hall at Van Doornenplantsoen

The municipality of Zoetermeer is building a new school building for the MOTION Beweeg College and a new municipal sports hall at Van Doornenplantsoen.

The building site (red) on Van Doornenplantsoen and the current school building (blue)

MOTION Move College

Following the administrative takeover by the Lucas Education Foundation, the name of this vmbo school has changed. The new name better reflects the current direction and needs of the school.

The current site is severely outdated and far too large. The new school can accommodate up to 550 students. The Program of Requirements 'Fresh Schools 2021' is a basis for building a new school. This establishes good and appropriate educational quality in a fun, healthy, inspiring and sustainable environment. A Fresh School pays attention to the themes: energy, air quality, temperature, light and sound.

New zoning plan

The school and sports hall will be built on the grassy field opposite the existing school. A new zoning plan has been drawn up for this purpose. On Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, the council proposal for the adoption of the zoning plan for the new Van Doornenplantsoen building was adopted, changing the zoning.

Sports Hall

In the coalition agreement 'Doing together what is necessary' it was agreed to invest in sports facilities. The new sports hall is being built because of the shortage of sports halls in Zoetermeer.

The new sports hall will be used by the schools during the day. In addition, the Zoetermeer sports clubs will also use the hall. A number of common areas will be shared with the MOTION Beweeg College (entrance, checkroom, changing room, toilets). Thanks to this collaboration, the sports hall will be used optimally.

Larger sports hall for more opportunities

During the design process, the "Quality Standards for Indoor Sports Facilities Korfball" were modified and further explained. As a result, the dimensions of the playing field, including free range, were revised.

By enlarging the sports hall by about 400^m2, we will make it suitable for more sports and ensure that it meets the official rules of the Royal Dutch Korfball Association (KNKV). The expansion also provides several improvements in the surrounding areas:

Spacious locker rooms that are better laid out and more user-friendly.
Two locker rooms for teachers instead of one.
Enlarged equipment storage, providing more storage space and more options for use of the hall and sports classes.
A built-in trampoline.
An additional changing area for the disabled (MIVA).
A separate first aid room.
Additional (rentable) accommodation space of 80^m2.
A spacious entrance overlooking the hall.
An elevator with access to the elevated schoolyard.

The council unanimously approved the enlargement of the sports hall on Sept. 16, 2024.

Floor plan enlarging sports hall after council agreement on Sept. 16, 2024 - first floor

Floor plan enlarging sports hall after council agreement on Sept. 16, 2024 - 1st floor

Design phase

The final design has been completed. The images at the bottom of this page give a good idea of the design of the school and sports hall. Please note that these images are not quite final as the architect is still adjusting the facade. The updated facade drawings will be added to this page later.

Challenge: grid congestion

Recently, the project faced an unexpected challenge: grid congestion in South Holland. This means that there is currently insufficient capacity on the electricity grid to realize new large-scale connections. As a result, the newly built school and sports hall cannot be directly connected to the power grid. The municipality is working with all stakeholders to quickly reach a solution to provide the building with alternative energy. As a result, it is not yet clear exactly when construction work will begin.

Environmental Permit

The environmental permit for this project was granted in mid-April 2025. This is an important milestone that brings the project closer to the realization of the new school building and sports hall. This means we can now proceed with preparations for the construction phase.

Start of construction - information evening

As soon as the construction start date is known, the immediate area will receive an invitation to an information meeting. During this meeting we will inform about the planning of the construction work and the possible inconvenience. We are happy to discuss this.