The new provincial government wants to invest more than 64 million extra in Drenthe over the next four years. Half of the money is for things that the province was already doing, the other half is for new policy. It has not yet been set in stone, but residents and the Provincial Council (the Drenthe Parliament) must have more say in where the province invests money. Or not.
The financial prospects for the coming years are good and investments can be made. But shortages are looming after 2026. More than 22 million is available for investments next year. That seems like a lot, but the amount is quickly distributed when you see what the new Provincial Executive wants to tackle.
According to deputy Egbert van Dijk, efforts are being made to restore nature and the landscape. The Provincial Executive (GS) wants ‘New Style National Parks’ in Southwest Drenthe and in the Drentsche Aa area, efforts should be made to improve the quality of the landscape, with the aim of a more attractive living, working and living environment for residents and recreationists.
GS has reserved almost a million euros over the next two years for the legalization of PAS detectors, a nitrogen bank and licensing, despite the fact that much is not yet clear from The Hague. And the wolf also has a price tag: more than 2.2 million for the next two years. Especially for prevention measures and damage payments. 15 million is available annually for rural development from the European Union.
As far as solving the nitrogen problem is concerned, an “important principle is that it is on a voluntary basis and that each sector contributes its share”, GS write. “There remains room for farmers in Drenthe, we are committed to future-oriented and profitable agriculture.”
There will also be a pilot project with a restructuring fund for outdated industrial estates in the Assen-Groningen region. One million euros is available for this. Business must be greener, smarter and more digital, explains economics representative Willemien Meeuwissen.
One of her major concerns is whether we will soon have enough young hands and brains to not only keep business running, but also to innovate. Greener, smarter and more digital is her credo. 2.6 million will be available for the regional economy next year.
Drenthe pays almost 2.3 million euros per year for fire brigade, maintenance, infrastructure and security of Groningen Airport Eelde. For the next two years, there will be four million euros annually to invest in solving the bottleneck on the track at Meppel and the Emmen-Rheine passenger train, and for 2026 and 2027 this will be five million euros annually.
The GS want to use a one-off amount of one million euros to bring top sporting events to Drenthe, with the nice aftertaste of last year’s European Cycling Championship still left in the mouth. There will also be a one-off maintenance fund of two million euros for (smaller) museums in Drenthe.
“Museums are faced with enormously increased costs for energy and personnel. We will not solve everything with those two million, but perhaps we can ensure a soft landing with the cultural sector,” said cultural representative Henk Jumelet. One million will go to the De Buitenplaats museum in Eelde in 2024. 2.5 million per year is available for an investment in the social field.
GS are very concerned about the budget no longer being balanced in the long term. The cause: the so-called ‘ravine year’ in 2026. The government will reorganize and cut back on the flow of money to both the provinces and municipalities, but no one yet knows what this different financing system will look like.
The deficits if government policy remains unchanged are already clear: after 2026, the province of Drenthe will have a deficit of thirteen million euros, which will increase to 26 million within a year or two. Municipalities and provinces fear that they will end up in a financial ravine. But financial deputy Egbert van Dijk is confident that things will turn out well. In addition to cuts, it is about redistribution of government money.
“In the current system of distributing government money, there are ‘advantageous municipalities and provinces’ and ‘disadvantageous municipalities and provinces.’ The province of Drenthe is one of the disadvantaged provinces. “We insist on a redistribution on January 1, 2025, in which we get a larger share of the pie, but we must also have a worst-case scenario ready in case it does not work out.”
And there are other financial uncertainties lurking. What will a new cabinet do and what if government investments are not made in the region? “There is also no financing yet for a number of tasks of a structural nature,” GS wrote to PS. This means that we have to work on less nitrogen, nature restoration and transformation of agriculture and housing, but The Hague is not yet delivering. Or not enough.
“Then we will ultimately have to make choices. Perhaps new for old, in other words no longer doing things we always did in order to be able to do new things,” says Van Dijk.
GS emphatically want a different management culture. More and earlier influence from residents and the Provincial Council, including from the opposition. Deputy Yvonne Turenhout: “There will be a citizens’ council in which we always want a representative group of residents to think along.”
With regard to involving the PS earlier in making plans, GS has used the ‘starting note’ as a tool. PS can provide guidance on what future plans should really look like. Jumelet and Van Dijk: “We have already had two starting notes, energy and culture, and we are receiving positive feedback from PS about how this works.”