Industrial terrains
Introduction
Bergen op Zoom is a location where big multinationals such as cigarette manufacturer Phillip Morris Holland B.V, plastics manufacturer Sabic, Bruijnzeel Keukens, Cargill, Nuplex Resins and Royal Nedalco settled years ago. Many medium and smaller companies are also operating from Bergen op Zoom. The industrial sites of Bergen op Zoom are dispersed over the municipality. The positive side of this is easy accessibility from residential areas as well as highways. Most industries can be found on Theodorushaven/Noordland, an industrial site which includes an industry harbour.
Park management
The municipality of gemeente Bergen op Zoom puts industrial sites in the same category as residential areas. This means so-called ‘livability budgets’ (‘leefbaarheidsbudgetten’) can be applied. These financial means can be utilized for initiatives increasing the attractiveness of a specific industrial site. This implies that industrial sites can also be regarded as residential areas with accompanying budget meant to improve the entrepreneurial climate and to increase mutual connections. In order to stimulate park management on the industrial sites the Mayor and Board of aldermen in 2004 decided to grant a municipal contribution to each industrial site (association).
Park management is a means to level the quality of an industrial site with the wishes of the entrepreneurs involved and also to maintain these quality levels. What is more: to continuously make further improvements and renewals. Collaboration between the municipality, real estate owners and companies enables actual use of these means. Proper park management is a means to prevent aging of an industrial site. This prevents the area from depravation as well as (high) costs involved in restructuring. But there is more to it.
Companies and the municipality – each with their own accent – are attaching value to sustainable social-economic development, protection of the environment and efficient use of space. Park management is an appropriate tool for this.
In 2007 the entrepreneur associations TNP, LMM and Oude Molen, the local fire brigade, the local police force and the municipality decided to initiate a park management umbrella foundation led by an independent chairman.
All industrial sites have been accredited with the ‘Safe Entrepreneurship’ quality mark.
