Investment of over six million euros for the Shared Happiness program by the Province of Drenthe and the municipalities of Westerveld, De Wolden, Meppel, and Hoogeveen
Good news for the Zwolle Region and Southwest Drenthe. In the coming years, the Province of Drenthe and the four municipalities will jointly invest over three million euros in livability in the municipalities of Westerveld, De Wolden, Meppel, and Hoogeveen. In addition, Southwest Drenthe will receive a national contribution of 2.9 million euros from the Regional Deal Zwolle. In total, over six million euros will be invested in the livability and living environment of the region in the coming years.
The Regional Deal Zwolle 2024–2028 is a collaboration between local and regional partners and seven ministries. Together, they are committed to strengthening broad prosperity in the region: more opportunities for residents, future-proof growth for businesses, and a sustainable living environment.
Shared happiness as a compass for Southwest Drenthe
For Southwest Drenthe, this grant means a strong boost. The municipalities of De Wolden, Hoogeveen, Meppel, and Westerveld, together with the Province of Drenthe, have developed the regional arrangement ‘Shared happiness as a compass for Southwest Drenthe’. This arrangement harnesses the region’s strengths and gives existing and new initiatives the chance to accelerate growth. The focus is on strengthening livability, community strength, and amenities in villages and neighborhoods, and on a future-proof living environment where people, nature, and the economy are in balance.
Broad prosperity
The arrangement consists of three interconnected subprojects: ‘Connected, fit and vital forward’, ‘Living and the power of proximity’, and ‘Green-rooted growth’. Together, they form a strategic approach to make broad prosperity tangible for residents and entrepreneurs in Southwest Drenthe. This includes strengthening community centers as meeting places, stimulating neighborhood initiatives, social gardening, further developing volunteer-run events, collaborating through village agendas, supporting home splitting, greening hardened areas, circular and biobased construction, shortening the food chain, and pilots in future-proof agriculture.
‘We are extremely proud that the advisory committee has rated our regional arrangement so positively on all fronts,’ said the involved aldermen Frank Foreman, Niek Wind, Gerrie Hempen-Prent, Klaas de Vries, and deputy Yvonne Turenhout. ‘With this investment, we can take concrete steps together with our partners towards a vital, connected, and future-proof Southwest Drenthe.
