The Haute Lesse region? It’s made up of four municipalities: Daverdisse, Libin, Tellin and Wellin. With IDELUX, they have joined forces to provide the best possible support to help local businesses thrive. The result is a wonderful synergy between high-tech solutions, the wood industry and local companies. They all contribute to their region’s vitality. An overview of recent initiatives.
A multi-municipality approach
The municipalities in the Haute Lesse have a total of just over 12,000 inhabitants spread over approximately 320km2. Three of them are located in the Namur region. The Lesse may always be close, but the E411 is never far away. These two features contribute to their appeal in terms of tourism and the economy.
In June 2011, they joined forces with IDELUX for a 20-year project bringing the municipalities together to distribute investment to provide the best possible conditions for welcoming businesses. Indeed, the studies carried out by IDELUX show that creating a business park has a real impact in terms of employment for the whole region. One example: at the Wellin park, 20% of the workers live in the municipality and 33% come from neighbouring municipalities.
So in recent years, there have been a number of initiatives to strengthen the capacity for working together to welcome new business.
Overview of these municipalities
- Libin has been home to the Euro Space Center for thirty years. Since 2009, it has been joined by some prestigious neighbours specialising in space and high-tech solutions. Ten of the twenty hectares of the new Galaxia park are still available for new investments. There are some great projects on the horizon. For its part, IDELUX is also involved in the construction of three adjoining incubator facilities, each one covering 250 m2. They will be available in the 2nd half of 2022. The administrative premises have been designed to be allocated flexibly according to the needs of their respective future occupants.Just on the other side of the N40, several companies, mainly working in the construction industry, are based at the “Les Cerisiers” business park. Those familiar with the E411 will easily be able to visualise the 3.5 hectares that have long been empty. They are currently enjoying a resurgence of interest, which should soon take shape. As always, first come, first served.
- Wellin has a business park covering 6.32 hectares and an incubator facility that is currently full, housing 15 companies (86 jobs). Its extension over 12 new hectares – 10 of which have been developed to accommodate businesses – will mean that a large number of SMEs will be able to move in within the next 2 or 3 years. The new developments are fully in line with sustainable development requirements (internal network of slow lanes linked to the villages of Wellin and Halma; biodiversity; user-friendly space; charging points for electric vehicles etc.).
- Just a little further away, Tellin has just opened a 9-hectare business park, on which work began in October 2020. One of the unique features of this new investment lies in the fact that it is built on a slope and has been approved as a receiving site for soil, offering a practical solution for companies that often don’t know what to do with the soil that is excavated during construction work. In Luxembourg Province alone, 450,000m3 of soil is excavated every year. In order to manage this issue properly, IDELUX has entered into a partnership with Tradecowall, an established expert in this field.Tellin Park is the first operational site and is already able to accommodate 76,900m3 of excess earth (excavated soil, plant production, natural stone materials). Following the arrival of this earth, the park should be able to accommodate businesses within 2 years. Another particular feature of Tellin is that its park is dedicated to the wood sector. As there are no plans for internal roads, it is expected that 2 or 3 large businesses will be able to take on plots of between 2 and 4 hectares. One company involved in the circular economy is already interested. For the time being, the surrounding area has been developed and made safe, and the municipal authorities are keen to build a second feeder road to the motorway.
- Although the municipality of Daverdisse does not strictly speaking have a business park, it fully supports the neighbouring municipalities within the framework of the multi-municipality partnership, and is well aware of the positive impact of the existing network on its population.
Are you keen to grow your business in the region? Do you need to expand?
Contact our business advisor, Julien TYCHON, who will help you with your plans.