Suderwick town centre development

The idea for the changes in Suderwick - in addition to Suderwick's ageing pipes, which need to be replaced anyway - was influenced by developments in the neighbouring town of Dinxperlo. Since 2020, the Netherlands has been working on the so-called "Centrumsvisie Dinxperlo" - a plan on how the centre of Dinxperlo can be redesigned (see https://centrumdinxpe rlo.nl/). The municipality of Aalten has worked with planning offices to draw up plans for the village square, the avenue and the Hellweg. Part of the Hellweg is even on the German side and leads directly to Sporker Straße. Dinxperlo and Suderwick will therefore be further upgraded up to the state border through a joint redesign of the Hellweg.

Visitors will be able to cross the Hellweg and the avenue to reach the centre of Dinxperlo directly via attractively designed paths. Hotspots will remind visitors of the past and invite them to linger. In this way, the border will be brought to life to a greater extent than was previously the case. Instead of the current crosses on the carriageway, the entire pavement area south of the border will be redesigned and extended.

The Centrumsvisie ends in the area of the Hellweg, which runs along the border into Sporker Straße. The OKEK should therefore follow on from the Centrumsvisie plans for the area shown above.

The OKEK is an initial plan of how the centre of Suderwick could be designed in the future. Sporker Strasse, the village square and part of Wiggerstrasse were considered. Two areas were looked at particularly closely: the village square and the section of Sporker Straße between the village square and Hellweg. The focus was therefore also on the route into the centre of Suderwick.

The OKEK design concept brings together many topics: green spaces, environmental and climate protection, traffic and the design of public spaces and much more. Suderwick is not only to become more beautiful - it is also about improving quality of life and climate resilience.

The design concept was developed by the planning office Wolters Partner Stadtplaner GmbH. Citizens were already able to have their say at this stage - for example during a walk through the town followed by a planning round in September 2024, where interested parties were able to contribute their ideas and opinions(https://www.bocholt.de/neuigkeiten/stadtentwicklung/stadtteil-suderwick-soll-(noch)-schoener-werden). This feedback has already been incorporated into the current draft.

There will be further participations in future planning stages. Citizens will continue to be invited to participate in the planning process and contribute their ideas. It is not yet possible to give a concrete timeline for the planning and participation process.

The village square and Sporker Strasse (as an extension of Hellweg) are therefore to become more attractive and inviting. The design is to be based on the plans for the Netherlands in order to emphasise the special location directly on the border. Some design elements from the Centrumsvisie are also to be adopted for Suderwick: For example, pavement and footpath areas could be given red clinker paving in a row pattern based on the Dinxperlo design. A "long bench" could surround planned green areas on Suderwick's village square and invite people to linger - similar to the ones that have now been created in Dinxperlo, for example around the church. This could create a recognition value in both village centres. At the same time, Suderwick's unique character should of course be preserved.

The canals on Sporker Straße between the village square and Hellweg are outdated and will be renewed - an opportunity to make the area even more attractive.

In order for the ideas from the OKEK to be realised, more precise, more detailed plans need to be drawn up. So far, the OKEK is only a design draft. This means that the current status of the OKEK includes trees, for example, which are intended to show that the area is to become greener. Where exactly trees can be placed will have to be examined in future. The same applies to the car parks: the exact locations where parking spaces could be created in future or where existing parking spaces could be removed need to be examined further. There is still a lot to be done on the current OKEK in order to have a plan that can be put into practice.

To this end, an office is now to be commissioned to further develop the plans for the western Sporker Straße, between Hellweg and the village square, as well as for the village square. This process will again take place together with citizens and politicians. Permits must then be obtained, tenders issued and the actual remodelling planned. Funding will also have to be applied for. So there is still some work to do.

Things will get underway from 2026: the renovation of Sporker Straße West will start at the same time as the civil engineering work. The new village square will follow in 2027. In total, the town is investing around 3.2 million euros in the beautification - hopefully supported by funding from the NRW "Structure and Village Development" programme.

It is particularly important that the people of Suderwick and the surrounding area are involved. The aim is to further develop Suderwick as an attractive place to live and a special border town.