Haarlemmermeer
Still in it's youth, they're already talking about the second phase of the Haarlemmermeer. The ongoing redevelopment plan for the area, situated to the south-west of Amsterdam, is profound and ambitious. It will permanently enhance the function and status of this economically growing region.
Logistics
The first intervention will involve a further strengthening the growth potential of the logistics cluster. Thanks to its strategic location, halfway between the port complexes of Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and near Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, located on its official border, the Haarlemmermeer is the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area’s centre for so-called third line logistics.
An important proportion of its 8,000-plus resident companies (including over 450 with a non-Dutch parent company), deals with the enhancing and forwarding of goods flows to the rich European hinterland.
Investing in the future
Haarlemmermeer is adding a further dimension to this sector, with the project Amsterdam Connecting Trade (ACT), which it is carrying out in close cooperation with business, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and the national government. ACT is playing a pro-active role in the distribution sector’s adoption of the prevailing trend of chain reductions and efficiency improvements on a sustainable scale.
This is being realised by developing new, easily accessible business locations, where combinations of mutually reinforcing logistics service providers can create, innovate and expand the existing areas of operation. In addition, connectivity to the various logistics platforms will also be improved, and there will be careful consideration of how to iron out the kinks in processes, and how to enhance the exchange of information between the various parties in the chain. For example, in the develop plans more space is being made for concepts such as bonded warehousing. This means that customs-free areas will be created within storage centers, so that goods in transit do not need to be declared. This innovation alone can result in significant time and efficiency gains.
Sustainable relationships
While the Haarlemmermeer is strengthening its standing as a suitable location for a wide range of companies specialising in distribution to the European hinterland, new opportunities – in the form of business premises - are also being created for knowledge-intensive enterprises. Another part of the restructuring programme, for example, is the creation of a green belt more than 1,000 acres wide, which runs from the western coastal area to the business locations adjacent to Schiphol. This ‘Park of the 21st Century’ will unite living and working locations in a green environment, and give a new boost to the work-life balance of residents and staff. Incidentally, the plans include a provision for temporary housing for expats.
A third aspect of the future plans decrees that every one of these ambitions must be realised in a sustainable manner. Haarlemmermeer is distinguished by being one of the first locations in Europe to use cradle-to-cradle principles as a standard to define property and area development. Through using recycled materials, and thinking in advance about how to offset or prevent the negative impact of living and working in an ecologically sensitive area, all the parties involved can contribute to adding considerable social and economic value.
For newly established companies, that translates into lower residential and operating costs (as a result of a higher residual value and lower - or zero - energy costs). Moreover, at the same time such businesses will be profiling themselves as socially responsible employers in word and deed. And these are exactly the kind of partners who feel most at home in the Haarlemmermeer - now and in the future.
Contact
City of Haarlemmermeer
P.O. Box 250, 2130 AG Hoofddorp, The Netherlands
T +31 23 567 6139
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