Turnhout in BLOOM Introduction Turnhout In 1212, Turnhout was granted city rights by Duke Henry I of Brabant. Originally the castle of Turnhout was a summer lodge of the Dukes of Brabant, with extensive hunting grounds and a park of its own. In the middle Ages, Turnhout, being a market town, became the economical centre of the Campine. After Belgian independence in 1830 it became a town on the frontier with The Netherlands. The building of the railway line, the canal and the motorway made it into the modern industrial town and economical centre which Turnhout is today. Number of inhabitants (1 January 2016) - Turnhout: 42,886 - Town region (Beerse, Oud-Turnhout, Turnhout and Vosselaar): 84,944 BREDA - District (27 municipalities): 452,696 Turnhout demographics (1 January 2016) TILBURG - 0 – 19 years old: 21 % 47 km - 20 – 64 years old: 60 % - 65 and older: 19 % 33 km 33 Turnhout surface EINDHOVEN - Total: 21.64 square miles or 56 km2 - Population density: 1968 inhabitants per square 2 46 km mile or 759 inhabtitants per km - Built-up area: 4.7 square miles or 12 km2 Surface per function in Turnhout - Residential area: 20 % 48 km - Enterprise area: 8 % - Green area: 22 % Persons employed - Turnhout: 29,595 - Town region (Beerse, Oud-Turnhout, Turnhout and Vosselaar): 45,795 - District (27 municipalities): 153,225 Mayor: Eric Vos Alderman for environment: Hannes Anaf Alderman for green spaces: Luc Debondt Number of employees: 493 (= 11.7 per 1,000 inhabitants) of which - 47 in the Urban Development sector, - 32 staff for maintenance of green spaces 3 Planned development approach In Turnhout we chose for an inte- The regional zoning plan describes the The northern green fi nger is currently grated approach. Urban planning, Turnhout region as the only Flemish being developed. From the ‘Warande’, environmental and nature policies, town which is entirely surrounded by the castle gardens, a whole series water and sewage policies, mobility open spaces. In 2008 the town council of green spaces have been recent- and the arrangement of the public decided to keep a circle of ‘green ly created. In this way the historic space constitute a base for urban fi ngers’ around the entire town free of green areas in the heart of the city development. constructions. In this way the centre are connected to the nature reserve of the town is directly linked to the ‘Turnhouts Vennengebied’ [Turnhout The Turnhout town council wants to large green zones around. heaths and ponds area]. reconcile the quality of life of people These open areas are part of the and the opportunities for develop- green-blue network. They give the In the same way the green fi nger to ment of enterprises in an integrated necessary space for a natural water the natural landscape ‘Liereman’ and manner. Vision is converted into policy, for green recreation and for the ‘Grotenhoutbos domain’ is also on projects which offer space for living our G-routes. The latter is a network the drawing table. and relaxing, working, education and of green cycling routes which connect care. In this manner the town council the town with the neighbouring mu- By means of the environmental helps to build a sustainable world on nicipalities and the recreation zones in policies various policy areas and aims the local level. the outer areas. of the town council are bound into a single structure. 4 Environment Natural Environment Actions taken for water quality in rivers, streams, Responsible use of chemical products lakes, beaches In the environmental licences which the town council Turnhout has a sewerage rate of 97 %. This has grants to enterprises, there is a lot of attention for the improved the water quality in the rivers and streams use of dangerous substances and the protection of markedly over the last years. The largest, historical the environment, in accordance with the Flemish reg- part of the sewerage system is a mixed system. In the ulations. Old historical contaminated sites and dumps case of heavy rainfall this causes the sewage treat- are cleaned up. The town itself sets the good example ment station to be overburdened, resulting in untreat- by managing the public domain without pesticides. ed water being discharged into the watercourses. To address this problem, new sewerage is always Rain water collection installed in separate systems, and during the redevel- The town council aims for maximum re-use of rain- opment of existing roads a split sewerage system is water and local infi ltration. Where this is not possible, installed. the town council chooses buffering. In order to separate the sewerage and drainage in The remainder of the rain water is drained off sepa- the historical centre, rainwater drains are installed to rately. For this also space is provided for buffering and which all rainwater sewers can be connected. Out- infi ltration. Where possible this infi ltration and buff- side the centre these become open canals, and space ering of rain water is done in open natural systems. is created for the infi ltration and buffering of the These watercourses and ponds are green elements rainwater. This not only ensures an improvement of which also have a substantial experiential and the water quality, but it also prevents or limits fl ooding ecological value. In the town centre, where the open downstream. spaces are limited, underground infi ltration systems are provided. Actions taken for air quality – policy on emissions and use of fossil fuels The Turnhout town council signed the mayors’ cov- enant aiming to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses by 20% by 2020. Both citizens and enterprises are involved in the action plan. 6 Built environment Actions taken for waste minimization Policies and actions taken for the use of sustainable The heart of the town has various historical open spaces During the 19th century a commercial and industrial town In Turnhout a weight-DIFTAR system has been energy which, even today, determine the urban design. The castle grew around the historic centre. Over recent decades the introduced (Differentiated Tariff for Removal). This The Turnhout town council is a fervent supporter of of the Dukes of Brabant in the middle of the town is the large print-works and weaving-mills disappeared. The town means that residual waste, and vegetable and garden renewable energy: on the one hand the classic sourc- core of it. council acquired various plots, which at this moment are waste which is collected at home, but also the waste es such as wind and sun, but on the other hand also mainly temporarily being used as centre car parks. Some delivered to the container park, is weighed. Inhabit- deep geothermal energy, a unique project in Flanders. After the French Revolution the castle domain was split into became residential complexes. The National Museum of ants have to pay per kilogram of waste. This results in various parcels for a variety of services: prison, hospital, the Playing Card is housed in one of these old factories. more awareness concerning waste. Through the installation of heat-networks the town school, rest homes. The only remaining green parcel was On the site of the old Brepols print-works – very near the Additionally, paper and PMD waste (Plastic, metals wants to become fully energy-neutral over time. These the Kasteeldreef (Castle Drive). Grote Markt – and after years of planning, the Flemish and drinks cartons) are collected at home. By collect- heat-networks will be fed by geothermal sources, The building of the cultural centre ‘de Warande’ was the urban renewal project Turnova was started in 2015. There ing the various recyclable fractions the separation of supplemented by wind and solar energy. start of a new castle park dedicated to culture in all its will be a great diversity of housing, a shopping mall with waste collections is stimulated. The result is a small In the framework of geothermal energy and heat-net- shapes. The green space was restored, step by step, to underground car park and a new arts campus for more amount of waste and a large percentage of separate works, Turnhout is taking an active role by installing a contemporary green park in the heart of the town. The than 2,500 students. In the project a large area for neigh- and reusable collection. heat-networks in its own projects, and by making car parking, the party hall and the exhibition space were bourhood green spaces is planned, which will also be them compulsory in new private projects. therefore built underground. accessible to the housing areas around Turnova. This is an Composting and green waste recovery Together with external partners a search for a example of mixed use which increases the quality of life in The Turnhout council actively supports the function- geothermal source is underway. The town council The Beguinage also was part of the original castle domain, the heart of the town. ing of the compost masters, volunteers who inform wishes to involve the citizens in this. Therefore, the and has now been awarded UNESCO World Heritage sta- citizens in their capacity of home composting. In the town council decided that in every project regarding tus. Together with the nearby ‘Huys methen Thoren’ (House The urban renewal is supported by upgrading the public case of problems they also visit the citizens at home. renewable energy at least 20% citizen participation with the Tower) it is the peaceful garden zone in the heart spaces. Not only squares and parks, but also the main As citizens have to pay per kilogram of green waste, must be provided. For this there is cooperation with of the town. streets are getting a new adapted profi le, with attention for home composting has received a signifi cant boost.