Tino Meijn is chairman of VNO-NCW Rijnland.
“How will the Leiden region earn its bread in ten years? And how do we ensure that this is a well-stocked sandwich? Jobs are needed for this, and they come primarily from entrepreneurship and innovation. Action is therefore needed in these two areas if the region is to maintain its leading position. SMEs play an important role in this.
The knowledge clusters are the beating heart of the regional economy; that’s where a lot of earning power resides. The broad-based SMEs are the lungs of the region that facilitate the local economy through all capillaries and are suppliers to the knowledge clusters. With Key Region Leiden’s new strategy, we are going to make them even better connected.
An important condition for this is space for work. There is a great shortage of that now. Current business parks are nearly full. A Ruimtelijke Ontwikkelingsmaatschappij voor Bedrijventerreinen (ROM-B) would be a great tool to investigate expanding space for work in new locations and also to make better use of the current space on sites by, for example, compacting, raising and relocating properties. Furthermore, it would be good to update the definition of space, which is, after all, changing with the increase of home-based work, changing occupancy rates and new demands of working people.
‘From investing in space for work, the entire region benefits
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It also provides the opportunity to simultaneously address the sustainability and modernization of obsolete real estate. We from VNO-NCW Rijnland are therefore happy to cooperate in exploring and establishing this ROM-B. For this we need the support of city councils, but also of the province and the state.
The goal is to preserve existing jobs, allow businesses to grow and expand and give new businesses the opportunity to locate, and that is good for broad prosperity.
VNO-NCW Rijnland is also committed within Key Region Leiden to a future with sufficient qualified personnel, with education that matches market demand and where there are sufficient internships for students.”