Large crowds and lively discussions at the newPark summit

Press release by WiN Emscher-Lippe and newPark GmbH from October 2, 2024

Guests from local, regional and state politics as well as other key players from the region and throughout NRW accepted their invitation: District Administrator Bodo Klimpel and Mayor André Dora are extremely satisfied with the great interest shown in the newPark summit, which took place last Friday in Gladbeck. More than 100 visitors were informed about the current status of the state’s largest land development project and gained new impetus from informative presentations and discussions.

There is a lot at stake when it comes to newPark. Specifically: a lot of space, a lot of potential jobs and a lot to consider in terms of development and marketing. With a total area of over 500 hectares, of which 156 hectares are to become commercial and industrial space, the newPark is one of the largest land development projects in NRW – and the only one in a conurbation and therefore with direct access to sufficient skilled workers and employees. In order to drive forward further development, the newPark planning and development company, together with the regional economic development agency, WiN Emscher-Lippe GmbH, invited guests to the newPark summit last Friday on the initiative of District Administrator Bodo Klimpel, Chairman of the WiN Executive Committee, and Mayor André Dora, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of newPark GmbH. The large crowds at the event showed that they had struck a nerve: they welcomed more than 100 guests to Gladbeck, so many that some of the visitors had to stand in the aisles to follow the presentations.

Tackling transformation now
“The newPark is a trailblazer in the region for the coming decades,” said District Administrator Klimpel in his welcoming speech, earning a lot of praise. Not least from the regional director of the RVR, Garrelt Duin, who emphasized in his keynote speech entitled Transformation needs space: “We must set out to tackle the transformations that are now pending. The newPark is representative of the entire development of the region.” Duin emphasized that the newPark and similar land development projects should not repeat the mistakes of the past and rely on individual large investors. In future, the development of resilient commercial and industrial areas would have to rely on a network of different companies instead of “the one major investor”. Duin emphasized the importance of the manufacturing industry as the basis for the entire value chain, from skilled trades to engineering services. Becoming the ‘greenest industrial region in the world’ also means maintaining and attracting industry as a starting point for many other value-adding companies. The Regional Director concluded his presentation with an urgent appeal to take advantage of the window of opportunity for relocations.

Seven points for a successful settlement
Time windows were a topic that Dirk Diedrichs also emphasized as a central and important point in his presentation Framework conditions for successful large-scale settlements . A glance at his business card shows that Mr. Diedrichs should be listened to carefully when he talks about what it takes to successfully attract investors and companies: He is the Saxon state government’s representative for large-scale relocations and can point to a whole series of Saxon success stories, the most recent example of which is the relocation of chip manufacturer TSMC to Dresden. In his presentation, Diedrichs named seven points that make successful relocations possible: Profitability, availability of space, infrastructure, availability of labor, an existing “ecosystem” (research and educational institutions, business networks, etc.), acceptance and political support (“settlement policy is a matter for the boss”).

newPark: central and overarching importance for the region
It is not difficult to see why: The newPark obviously offers the best conditions for further marketing. The seventh and perhaps most important point on Diedrich’s list(settlement policy is a matter for the boss) could also be considered a given as far as the region is concerned after a glance at the guests present on Friday. In addition to numerous representatives from the state parliament, district council and local parliaments, the administrative leadership was also represented by District President Bothe. Only Düsseldorf called for more support in the subsequent panel discussion. Mayor Dora stated: “We as the city of Datteln have delivered. Now we need support from the state and federal economic development agencies.” He also emphasized once again the central and overarching importance of the newPark. “We didn’t do this for Datteln, but for our region,” said Dora. Josef Hovenjürgen, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry of Regional Identity, Communities and Local Government, Building and Digitalization of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, promised to take the suggestions and arguments back to Düsseldorf.

“Putting the newPark in the shop window“
The panel discussion also addressed the extent to which the newPark can be marketed under the same conditions as the relocation projects in Saxony mentioned by Mr. Diedrichs. The background to the question is the generous subsidies that were granted for the “Aufbau Ost” program and whether it is even possible to set up a business without corresponding state support. District Administrator Bodo Klimpel assured the audience that they were in constant contact with the relevant authorities for EU and state subsidies. Regional Director Duin also announced that the Ruhr region would have its own representative office in Brussels in the future. Regardless of the availability of funding for the development and marketing of the newPark, a statement by Mr. Diedrichs raised hopes: “You have an excellent area here. It would be nice if we had something like this in Saxony. If you put the newPark ‘in the shop window’, I am very confident that you will find investors.”

One last point on Mr. Diedrichs’ list of framework conditions for successful large-scale settlements needs to be considered: Acceptance. It is no secret that the newPark project has been the subject of controversial discussions, including at the newPark summit. Concerns were expressed in particular by the Bündnis90/Die Grünen parliamentary group. The Managing Director of newPark GmbH, Andreas Täuber, emphasized in his presentation that the concerns have been incorporated into the planning and that the newPark is to be developed as a “blueprint for climate-neutral, green industry” – including the preservation and afforestation of forest areas, rainwater collection areas and a ventilation concept.

“We need to take action now,” emphasized Regional Director Duin during his presentation, echoing the sentiment of all panel participants and receiving great applause from the audience.

About the newPark:
The place of longing for future industry that reconciles sustainable growth and climate protection has a name: newPark. The area of the newPark is defined in the NRW state development plan for major, land-intensive industrial projects of state importance. The planned industrial area is located in the northern Ruhr area, the Emscher-Lippe region, on the former Dortmund sewage fields in Datteln. The planned area covers 290 ha. The planned marketable area is 156 ha. Planning permission now exists for the first 60 ha!

Industrial settlements will be embedded in a park landscape with high-quality ecological features and set out to turn North Rhine-Westphalia’s vision of becoming a climate-neutral industrial region into reality. The focus is on two sectors: the booming green tech industry with growth-oriented, medium-sized companies and networked, digital production. The cities in the north of the Ruhr Metropolis are developing their economic structure with the newPark and are thus becoming less dependent on economic fluctuations and crises.

About WiN Emscher-Lippe GmbH:
WiN Emscher-Lippe GmbH – “WiN” for short – is the regional business development agency for the Emscher-Lippe region, i.e. for the cities of Bottrop and Gelsenkirchen and the district of Recklinghausen with its ten towns. It sees itself as a service provider for transformation for companies, municipalities and associations in the region.

WiN has established small, specialized teams for the three major challenges of demographics, defossilization and digitalization, which are closely networked with each other and with stakeholders in the region. They also maintain a close exchange with colleagues from neighboring municipalities and districts in the Ruhr metropolis and Münsterland.

In terms of demographic change, WiN offers solutions to counter the shortage of skilled workers through the regional agency and the Women and Careers Competence Center. In the area of digitalization, it has established SMART REGION Emscher-Lippe, an umbrella brand that bundles expertise in the region. WiN offers expertise in the areas of circular economy and hydrogen for the task of converting industry to climate neutrality.

This post is also available in: German