Herning-Ikast: Two towns are joining together to develop a sustainable industial park

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Abstract:

In the Herning-Ikast Industrial Park project the Danish municipalities of Herning and Ikast and their respective Chambers of Commerce have joined to plan and develop a business area which is based upon ecologically and industrially viable principles. In the process new approaches to planning were adopted, replacing the traditional zoning principles by principles of integration and industrial symbiosis. The aim is to respond to the multiple problems of urban disintegration, environmental degradation, inter- municipal competition and economic development needs in an environmentally and industrially viable way.

The following features of the project pose good examples for sustainable urban development:

• inter-municipal cooperation,
• involvement of the business sector in planning,
• support of companies employing environmentally friendly production methods,
• facilitation of inter-company cooperation and industrial symbiosis,
• application and evaluation of new construction methods to save resources.

Concept and Aims

The first initiative to create Ikast-Herning Industrial Park was taken in late 1991 by the two chambers of commerce in Herning and Ikast. Their proposal to the two municipalities to cooperate on business policy was readily accepted. After conducting a preliminary debate stage involving the general public, a joint coordinating committee and a number of working groups were formed to carry out the planning process.

The joint coordinating committee consisted of the two Mayors, the two leaders of the opposition parties in the local councils, and the two Chief Administrative Officers. The members of the working groups were recruited from the two town administrations, the business community as well as interested voluntary associations or organisations. The most prominent private and voluntary sector representatives were environmentally advanced businesses and agricultural associations representing the farmers owning land in and bordering the area of the future industrial park. The working groups were responsible for working on tasks such as the overall development plan, the detailed plan, site development and marketing.

After concluding the official planning phase and the site development of the first section of the industrial park area, in December 1994 the two municipalities and a local bank established a development corporation to market the business sites and develop further sections of the park.

Actors and Structures

The first initiative to create Ikast-Herning Industrial Park was taken in late 1991 by the two Chambers of Commerce in Herning and Ikast. Their proposal to the two municipalities to cooperate on business policy was readily accepted. After conducting a preliminary debate stage involving the general public, a joint coordinating committee and a number of working groups were formed to carry out the planning process.

The joint coordinating committee consisted of the two Mayors, the two leaders of the opposition parties in the local councils, and the two Chief Administrative Officers. The members of the working groups were recruited from the two town administrations, the business community as well as interested voluntary associations or organisations. The most prominent private and voluntary sector representatives were environmentally advanced businesses and agricultural associations representing the farmers owning land in and bordering the area of the future industrial park. The working groups were responsible for working on tasks such as the overall development plan, the detailed plan, site development and marketing.

After concluding the official planning phase and the site development of the first section of the industrial park area, in December 1994 the two municipalities and a local bank established a development corporation to market the business sites and develop further sections of the park.

Results and Impacts

From the first planning phase some important lessons have been drawn:

• Cooperation between the municipalities has proved to be very effective. Measures carried out by the these municipalities together have been more successful than those carried out by one alone;
• Exchange and communication with existing local enterprises has been inspiring and productive. However, in general it is very difficult to motivate those businesses that are not already sensitised to environmental activities to take action. The ecological business park might therefore prove to be a chance to raise these businesses' attention.
• The long planning phases carry with them the risk of declining attention and enthusiams for the project over the course of time.
• It proved to be difficult to find the required amounts of suitable construction waste to be recycled for building roads in the business park. There is no organised market or list of suppliers of recycled materials for road construction available in Denmark.
• Cooperation between the municipalities has proved to be very effective. Measures carried out by the these municipalities together have been more successful than those carried out by one alone;
• Exchange and communication with existing local enterprises has been inspiring and productive. However, in general it is very difficult to motivate those businesses that are not already sensitised to environmental activities to take action. The ecological business park might therefore prove to be a chance to raise these businesses' attention.
• The long planning phases carry with them the risk of declining attention and enthusiams for the project over the course of time.
• It proved to be difficult to find the required amounts of suitable construction waste to be recycled for building roads in the business park. There is no organised market or list of suppliers of recycled materials for road construction available in Denmark.
• Cooperation between the municipalities has proved to be very effective. Measures carried out by the these municipalities together have been more successful than those carried out by one alone;
• Exchange and communication with existing local enterprises has been inspiring and productive. However, in general it is very difficult to motivate those businesses that are not already sensitised to environmental activities to take action. The ecological business park might therefore prove to be a chance to raise these businesses' attention.
• The long planning phases carry with them the risk of declining attention and enthusiams for the project over the course of time.
• It proved to be difficult to find the required amounts of suitable construction waste to be recycled for building roads in the business park. There is no organised market or list of suppliers of recycled materials for road construction available in Denmark.
• Cooperation between the municipalities has proved to be very effective. Measures carried out by the these municipalities together have been more successful than those carried out by one alone;
• Exchange and communication with existing local enterprises has been inspiring and productive. However, in general it is very difficult to motivate those businesses that are not already sensitised to environmental activities to take action. The ecological business park might therefore prove to be a chance to raise these businesses' attention.
• The long planning phases carry with them the risk of declining attention and enthusiams for the project over the course of time.
• It proved to be difficult to find the required amounts of suitable construction waste to be recycled for building roads in the business park. There is no organised market or list of suppliers of recycled materials for road construction available in Denmark.

Finance

Planning and developing the first phase of Herning-Ikast Industrial Park have been financed primarily be the two municipalities of Herning and Ikast. For marketing and future development of the industrial park, the three members of the development corporation each invested DKK 10 million in 1994.

Source of Information

Danish Ministries of Environment and Energy and of Housing and Building 1995: The Ecological City - Denmark, National report for the OECD Project on the Ecological City, April

Daalsgard Hansen, L. 1994: Herning-Ikast Industrial Park, The Municipality of Herning, Technical Division, Town Planning Dept., Report No. ldh10/lv of 30 August 1994

Municipality of Herning, Town Planning Dept. 1994, The Herning-Ikast Industrial Park, manuscript, 2pp.

Contact:

Cities:

Herning and Ikast, Ringkobing County:

The municipalities of Herning and Ikast are situated in Ringkjobing County in mid-Jutland and together cover an area of 83,000 hectares. 55,000 of a total of 80,000 inhabitants live in the main urban concentrations. Density of population in the surrounding countryside is relatively low.

The region, which was originally dominated by heath and moorlands, experienced great changes beginning in the mid- 19th century, when large areas where drained and the area was developed for agriculture. A thriving textile industry and related industries were established. The main east- west traffic lines crossing the Danish mainland turned the two small villages into towns and, particularly Herning, into important commercial centres.

Due to its central location, over the last decades the area has continued to grow, and service industries (e.g. computers, design, marketing), woodworking companies or steel and iron industries have settled. Education and training institutions have developed a close working relationship with local industries and have expanded considerably. Herning is host to Scandinavia's largest trade and congress centre with annual trade fairs in fields such as agriculture, trade and craft and the environment. Compared with other Danish regions unemployment is relatively low (7% in 1994).

Population:

Project was added at 25.07.1997
Project was changed at 12.08.1997