PARKSTAD MUNICIPALITIES AGREE
[GOV: Heerlen, February 22] WGR Plus status means that authority over budgets goes to the Parkstad entity that represents the whole area. It means big city status within the meaning of the law and assigns additional powers of decision in areas such as planning, housing, economic development and infrastructure. The city region of Parkstad Limburg is working on a strong sustainable economic structure for the region. As a result of the fall in the population in the coming years, there is urgency and ambition to give the economy a boost and provide sustainable prospects for the people who live there. In recent times, many plans have been thought up and unanimously agreed on by the Parkstad council. The old municipal structure was not strong enough for this and now the issue is to turn the plans into reality, and that is why the Parkstad Pact has been set up. The new system means an independent chairman of the Parkstad region. The chairman will carry out the program and be supported by the council, working on a strategic agenda, restructuring the districts and the core within the context of: demographic developments; the complete development of the Parkstad ring; cross-border public transport; the development of a Parkstad Centrum and the open campus Avantis and new energy, gradually doubling the municipal contribution to the regional funds. Also important is the cooperative agreement with the province. This means an extra EUR 25m from the province for the Parkstad program.
On February 22, all seven Parkstad Limburg municipalities agreed on the organization of the regional cooperative association –known as the WGR Plus agreement - and the municipality of Nuth also agreed to join the Parkstad Limburg city region. After each municipality had made their individual decisions, the council and council members came together in the Parkstad stadium and the chairman, Toine Gresel, announced the result.
http://www.parkstadlimburg.nl/