Together smart into the future

With the Environment Act on the horizon, the municipality is working on the environmental vision for Gemert-Bakel

A plan containing the most important developments for the future of our municipality. In late June 2021, we traveled with our ice cream truck from village center to village center to talk with residents about their ideas for the future. What topics and themes are important. We also partnered with TipGemertsNieuwsblad to conduct a survey to gather input. We linked the input at the core tour and the findings from the survey to our own data analysis. All together gives a picture of the task at hand, an agenda and the starting point for the environmental vision. We call these "building blocks.

Getting started with the building blocks: vital villages and a future-proof countryside

The municipality of Gemert-Bakel is characterized on the one hand by the seven church villages. Villages with a strong sense of community and involvement, but with the challenge of keeping the villages vital now and in the future. Gemert-Bakel also has a large rural area with a predominantly agricultural function. The outlying area also has its specific challenges: existing agricultural businesses that have to comply with increasingly stringent environmental measures and businesses that, due to a lack of prospects or succession, are closing down. It is these two characteristic challenges that we translate for Gemert-Bakel's environmental vision into the following two building blocks:

• Vital villages
• Future-proof outdoor area

This means that the questions central to the building blocks for us are: What makes our church villages vital? And, what makes our outlying area future-proof?

What makes our church villages vital?

Based on the survey and the responses we received during the summer tour, the conclusion is that "vital" for residents means: sufficient green space and (sports) facilities in the immediate living environment, a housing market that meets housing demand and housing needs (especially housing for starters/young people) and a public space that maintains or improves social interaction between and the health of its residents.

What makes our outdoor area future-proof?

The data analysis reveals why transitioning agriculture is an important issue: the number of farms is decreasing. This may also have implications for employment. At the same time, the decrease in the number of farms also offers new opportunities for new (economic) activities through conversion. A small majority of those surveyed believe that something needs to change in the outlying area.

In conversation about the what certain choices mean

The purpose of the building blocks is to give structure and direction to the creation of the environmental vision. Together with residents, entrepreneurs, professional and social organizations, we answer the question: what will the physical living environment look like in the future? In doing so, it is important to visualize what the decisions you make are. For example, if you choose to build more houses in the village centers, this will not only mean something for the number of houses but also for the space that remains for sustainability, facilities and greening of the neighborhood. By discussing the choices and thinking through with each other what these choices actually mean, we arrive at a clear perspective for the future. The result of these choices will soon be the environmental vision.

This fall we will be back!

This fall we will again visit all village centers and engage with residents, entrepreneurs, community and professional organizations to further discuss the building blocks. In 2022, we can then work them out area by area.

Preparing for new Environment Act

We then work out the ideas in concrete terms and then the environmental vision, the plan containing the most important developments for the future of our municipality, can actually be adopted. In this way, we will be well prepared for the introduction of the new Environment Act.