📋 Tender Overview
The province of South Holland makes a subsidy available for shopkeepers entrepreneurs and municipalities who want to improve their shopping and center area together. The focus is on improving and increasing the quality and functioning of shopping and center areas. The province wants to help to strengthen shopping and center areas make them more compact and for example solve vacancy. The urgency to continue to focus on this will remain great in the coming years reinforced by the effects of the corona crisis.From 3 June 2021 to 31 December 2021 the scheme is open to all regular shopping and center areas in South Holland that have been designated in the provincial retail policy as centre to be strengthened centre to be optimized and other center. In order to be eligible these shopping and center areas must have a minimum size of 5 shops.A total of 500000 is available for the subsidy scheme whereby the following applies first come first served. The province of South Holland provides a maximum of 20000 per project.From mutual cooperation to research and implementation of projects municipalities associations of retailers and entrepreneurs and foundations can apply for subsidies for activities aimed at improving mutual cooperation between parties within shopping and center areas. The possibilities for this have been expanded within the subsidy scheme compared to previous years. It is also possible to apply for a subsidy for carrying out preliminary research for the establishment or extension of a Business Investment Zone.Planning projects and implementation projectsIn addition it is possible to apply for a subsidy for a planning project and for an implementation project. These are research projects that lead to or respectively lead to the implementation of a business case QuickScan feasibility study or center vision aimed at for example making a shopping area more compact. A planning project can also be broadly aimed at improving the spatial quality and functioning of shopping and center areas. Think of optimizing the shopping and walking routes or improving accessibility and parking.An implementation project can for example be used to fulfill the function of transformation manager to make a central area more compact to relocate retail trade or to stimulate transformations to other functions.Vlaardingen city centerIn 2018 the municipality of Vlaardingen used the subsidy for planning for a plan for the city center of Vlaardingen in order to provide insight into the reduction target for the retail space in order to achieve a more compact and bustling city center. Elements of this process included an owner analysis a simulation game with property owners and retailers exploratory group discussions and the preparation of an area agenda. Ultimately this led to an ambitious plan that has been implemented since 2020.
