In Key Region Leiden, we work daily on innovations that prove their value in practice. The region is in full swing and forms a powerful breeding ground for solutions that contribute to the future. With three strong knowledge clusters, the Leiden Bio Science Park (biotech), NL Space Campus (space technology & data) and Unmanned Valley (autonomous technology), Key Region Leiden is among the most innovative regions in the Netherlands.

First edition of Pioneers Capital Day

A great example is the first edition of Pioneers Capital Day, which will take place on April 8 at Unmanned Valley. This new event is organized by Unmanned Valley in cooperation with InnovationQuarter, Rabobank and Hogeschool Rotterdam.

Pioneers Capital Day focuses on the fast-growing market for drones, software and autonomous technology. This sector is on the eve of strong growth in the coming years. To realize Dutch ambitions in safety, agritech and logistics, more investment opportunities and a higher level of investor readiness are essential.

The program

The program (April 8, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.) offers, among other things:

• Inspirational speakers from the world of technology and finance;
• Extensive networking opportunities at Unmanned Valley’s unique test site;
• Dragon’s Den-style pitch sessions, with a financial award for the best pitch;
• Speed dating sessions for direct exposure to various forms of financing.

The event is designed for start-ups and scale-ups, industry incumbents and investors.

Key Region Leiden is proud of initiatives such as Pioneers Capital Day, which further strengthen the innovative power of the region. Find more information on Unmanned Valley’ s channels. Interested? Sign up via eventbite.

Want to know more about everything happening at Unmanned Valley? Visit the website or contact us via email.

We would like to bring to your attention an important development in Katwijk with a major impact on living, working and business. On the site of the old airbase Valkenburg, the new residential area Valkenhorst is being built. This new residential area will have 5,600 homes and commercial and social facilities.

Living

The neighborhood will have a village character with space for greenery, play and relaxation. There will be social rental housing, free sector rental housing, affordable and more expensive homes for sale. It is not yet possible to register for a rental or owner-occupied house in Valkenhorst.

Enterprise

Valkenhorst will have its own stores, schools, restaurants and other commercial and community facilities. Are you an entrepreneur and would you like to locate in Valkenhorst? Then submit your initiative to the Rijksvastgoedbedrijf.

In the middle of the area of former Naval Air Station Valkenburg is a collection of buildings and hangars. The buildings with spaces ranging from 100 to 1000 m2 have been sustainably renovated where several drone companies and companies with sensor-related technologies have found a place. There is a test field and indoor test hall for drones, also reservable for outside professionals.

Establishment and sales

If you would like to locate your practice, business or franchise business in the new Valkenhorst residential area, the Rijksvastgoedbedrijf would like to hear what ideas you have in terms of (temporary) facilities and commercial activities. Also, if you are interested in buying land from the Rijksvastgoedbedrijf, please contact them. For further information on the sale of properties, please visit biedboek.nl.

Eli Lilly investeert €2,6 miljard in productiefaciliteit in Katwijk

Water and greenery

In Valkenhorst, water and greenery are given an important role. Creeks and bicycle and walking paths connect the neighborhood with the various natural areas nearby, such as the Valkenburg Lake, the Mient Kooltuin and National Park Hollandse Duinen.

Sustainability

Valkenhorst is becoming a sustainable neighborhood. Attention will be paid to the climate, green energy and sustainable forms of transportation. The ambition is to develop Valkenhorst into an energy-neutral area. In this way, the neighborhood itself generates the energy it consumes.

The process

The Council of State declared the zoning plan irrevocable in January 2026. This means that the legal procedure has been completed and the Municipality of Katwijk can start construction. More information with questions and answers can be found on the website of the Municipality of Katwijk.

On December 15, together with the Province of South Holland, the Economic Board South Holland and more than 90 partners, we launched the Acceleration Program South Holland. In doing so, we are working to put the preconditions in place to unleash investment in the province of South Holland. Accelerate, Simplify and Connect is the advice.

Beneficial effects

The Acceleration Program helps to accelerate the expansion of energy infrastructure, organize space for sustainable and innovative business activity, attract and train talent, improve permitting and enable strategic investments. By accelerating together, projects can get off the ground sooner and we strengthen the economy, strategic autonomy and broad prosperity of Zuid-Holland.

Building bridges

Key Region Leiden is driving and building bridges between the knowledge economy and the region’s broad-based SMEs, the engine of our broad-based prosperity. We embrace the acceleration program because we see the importance of making targeted choices so that all the right preconditions are in place for innovation and entrepreneurship in Key Region Leiden. Together we are making South Holland ready for the future!

Joint approach

The Acceleration Program Growth Agenda South Holland is the joint approach of the province of South Holland, the Economic Board South Holland, governments, businesses and knowledge institutions to get the preconditions in place so that investments in our beautiful province will be released again. By working together faster on energy infrastructure, space, talent and strong investment proposals, among other things, we are ensuring that important projects actually get off the ground. In this way, South Holland makes a large and concrete contribution to the national goals for climate, housing, productivity and strategic economic growth.

Within Key Region Leiden, we want to cooperate more and take the lead in the development of business parks. A Ruimtelijke Ontwikkelingsmaatschappij Bedrijventerreinen (ROM-B) (Spatial Development Company for Business Parks) is an additional instrument that we are exploring to supplement the current set of instruments. The ROM-B is an instrument to revitalize existing business sites, set them up more efficiently and make more intensive use of the space at work locations. The exploration is a pilot from the Regional Investment Agenda (RIA) of the Holland Rhineland Region. [photo: Marko Hoops]

Of interest

The ROM-B instrument is important to explore because it is still only one of the few opportunities to create space for existing and new businesses on business sites in the Leiden region. The ROM-B could focus on redeveloping existing sites. In this way, new and additional space will become available by building more in height and also densifying.

In conversation with the council

The colleges in the Leiden region discussed the progress of the ROM-B in early December and now want to explore the next steps, including preparing a business case and working out what options there are regarding the necessary organizational form. In doing so, the colleges would like to work closely with the city councils. They are now being informed through a letter in which council members are asked to participate. The municipality of Leiderdorp has indicated that it will pause for a moment at this stage.

Draft versions

Should a next step be taken, the colleges of the participating municipalities want to legally secure the agreements around a ROM-B in statutes and a shareholders’ agreement. To this end, an exploration and coordination has taken place. This has led to draft versions of these documents. If desired, these are also available to council members so that they can get an idea of what agreements might look like.

Investment Fund

Further financial considerations to be made include the execution of business cases and the risks involved. The modus operandi of a possible ROM-B is that the capital required for the execution of a business case will, after delivery of the sites to entrepreneurs, be returned to the intended investment fund. Money made available by municipalities is therefore retained in principle. However, a project may involve an unprofitable top. It is important to know how to act in that case and what role the province can play.

Social goals

Besides densifying, making sites more sustainable and greening them, the fund can also pick up on social goals such as sufficient space for work and jobs, making commercial real estate more sustainable, energy transition and greening work environments. Finally, it is a desire for cooperation to also look at new business sites for which plans are already in place, but for which further planning steps are required.

Pilot region

The ROM-B is a pilot project from the Holland Rhineland Region’s regional investment agenda. Key Region Leiden will therefore receive a contribution from the RIA to carry out the pilot. Should the ROM-B be implemented and be successful within the Leiden region, the intention is to scale up further. Other municipalities may also join.

Decision-making

Decision-making on the ROM-B will not take place until after the elections and is therefore in the hands of the new colleges and municipal councils. To maintain progress, city councils are already being asked for a response now so that preparatory work can be taken up.

• Read the interview with Alderman Jacco Knape (Katwijk municipality), chairman of the business parks steering committee.
• And the interview with Willem Jan Zirkzee, chairman Entrepreneurial Leiden.
• Read more about the background on the project page.

The government is making € 2.5 billion available for the accessibility of new housing. Of this, the Municipality of Leiden and the region will receive an allocation of over € 146 million, of which € 34 million is for the development of the Leiden – Utrecht railroad and Hazerswoude station. On top of that, the Municipality of Katwijk will receive almost € 14 million for the developments around the Eli Lilly and Company company. With this boost, the grand plans in the area can be further developed.

The allocation is distributed among the projects as follows:

• € 105,072,000 as an investment in Leiden Central Hub;
• € 7.081.031 voor de woningbouwontwikkeling Wernink in de Hoge Mors;
• € 34.108.600 voor de ontwikkeling van het spoor Leiden – Utrecht, waaronder station Hazerswoude;
• € 14 miljoen voor de ont­wik­ke­lingen rondom het be­drijf Eli Lilly and Company.

These investments give not only Leiden, the region and South Holland, but all of the Netherlands perspective on a better future!

Access Gate

An improved Leiden Centraal interchange is not only crucial to the growth of travelers and the opening up of tens of thousands of new homes, but is also the gateway to one of the largest education, healthcare, an innovation clusters in the Netherlands.

From mboRijnland, Hogeschool Leiden to Leiden University, and from Leiden Bio Science Park, Unmanned Valley to NL Space Campus: our region attracts international talent that strengthens our earning power and innovativeness.

The developments also fully benefit SMEs in our business parks and the nurturing local economy.

Congratulations to everyone who made the effort!

• Read more about Knooppunt Leiden Centraal here.
• Read more about Eli Lilly’s arrival in Katwijk here.