“We are going to work hard on the city center of Doetinchem. The center is being made future-proof, looking ahead at least five to ten years. The city council has made one million euros available to invest in the public space. We are working hard to develop an urban development plan.
Important precondition
Our city center is more than a shopping area, especially now that many people buy their things online. It should become an experience center where you can also shop. It will be a comprehensive plan, with a lot of attention to greening and climate. Down to tile level, we will determine what should and should not be done to make the city more attractive.
Main target group
Families with children from Doetinchem itself. Research has shown that the city center in medium-sized cities such as Doetinchem is also attractive to others if you do well for your own people. We also desperately need these young families to achieve our growth target of 70,000 inhabitants in 2036.
Close cooperation
The plans are being developed in close collaboration with real estate owners and entrepreneurs in the city center. In more cities you see that the government works closely with these important partners, but the intensive way in which this happens in Doetinchem is unique. We will continue to do that, because we really need each other.
Playground
What should definitely be created is a play area for children. In addition, we are in discussions with the Protestant Church of the Netherlands in Doetinchem to involve St. Catherine’s Church in the project. As a councilor I am responsible for the city center, but cultural history is also in my portfolio.
Bring together
What we will certainly also do is bring together a group of residents, visitors and entrepreneurs of the city center, who can come up with ideas themselves. Naturally, they must fit into the whole and we indicate in advance how much money is available, but we are serious about resident participation. We hope for several plans, from which visitors will ultimately make a choice. Great steps have already been taken in the past, and of course we will continue to involve the Oude IJssel even more in the city center.
Finally, my colleague Henk Bulten is working on plans for a new daytime attraction to increase the attractiveness of the center. What that should be has not yet been determined, but we are working on it. It is in the interest of all of us that we keep a vibrant city center and make it even more beautiful than it already is!”