Thanks to the grant notification awarded by Dr. Günther Horzetzky, State Secretary in the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry for Economic Affairs, Energy, Industry, Small Businesses and Trade, to the two towns of Bottrop and Essen and also to RAG Montan Immobilien GmbH, the path has been cleared for the development of a feasibility study for the „Interkommunaler Entwicklungsplan IKEP_Mitte“ project (inter-municipal development plan).
In association with RAG Montan Immobilien, the towns of Essen and Bottrop want to develop about 200 ha of post-mining land. To this end, the „Interkommunaler Entwicklungsplan IKEP_Mitte“ collaboration was agreed at the Immobilienmesse Expo Real in Munich in October last year. It is a flagship inter-municipal project under the „Wandel als Chance“ (Change as Opportunity) post-mining land agreement Thanks to the regional economic development programme of North Rhine-Westphalia, 75 % of this project is now funded by the Bund-Länder-Gemeinschaftsaufgabe „Verbesserung der regionalen Wirtschaftsstruktur“ (GRW) (joint task of the federal government and the states for the „Improvement of the regional economic structure“).
In the north of Essen and the south of Bottrop there are numerous commercial and industrial buildings which are in various phases of usage. In this area, RAG Montan Immobilien GmbH has access to a total of 152 ha of potential space, including Emil Emscher in Essen, Welheimer Mark and the Prosper II mine in Bottrop. In the past few decades, restrictions or a lack of adequate transport links have made it impossible for some of the space to be made available. In the short term, the towns of Bottrop and Essen would like to work with RAG Montan Immobilien GmbH to develop a site for innovative technology-oriented companies and production facilities which is integrated in a green landscape.
The partners are currently collaborating on a feasibility study for revitalising post-mining land in a profitable way that focuses on the needs of the market. All technical and planning-related questions, plus the issue of time availability, have now been summarised in a plan, which is of huge importance in steering the overall process. The initial concepts ought to be developed by the end of 2016 and the feasibility study should be available by 2018.
The three partners assume joint responsibility for the region and want to work together to promote a successful and sustainable change on the land in the region once the mining industry has come to an end – specifically when coal mining ends in 2018. (RAG Montan Immobilien/Si.)
