Master Plan Getting Up Steam Goor

Goor is on the eve of a wonderful adventure. The terrain of the former TSB steam-driven bleachery (Twentsche Stoomblekerij) is the place where the textile industry originated in Twente. What was a fenced off area is now open for development. The Master Plan that we drew up in collaboration with De Zwarte Hond and SIR Participatie allows the area to become a part of Goor in a new, open way. The plan has everything to make the people of Goor proud again of this historic part of the town.

In 1838 Thomas Ainsworth started the Twentsche Stoomblekerij (TSB) in Goor. Now, more than 180 years later, we can still see this unique history, while until recently the buildings with a cultural historical value lay behind a big fence. The purchase of the 18-hectare terrain by the Hof van Twente local authority in September 2020 laid the basis for the development of an attractive green area for homes, work and recreation. The main points outlined in our Master Plan set out the course for the organic development of the TSB terrain in the years ahead.

The industrial buildings in their green setting are an invitation to roam around and to discover new things that will astonish you each time. This value is firmly anchored in the plan in the transformation to new functions and in the three ingredients of our vision for the surroundings.

1. The factory is situated on the terrain surrounded by green. It is a lively location where the unusual historic buildings are transformed and filled with the bustle of activity. To ensure consistent quality, buildings of a lower quality will be removed. To make it possible to retain many of the buildings of the factory, users are needed to bring life to the area. They may be enterprises, services, care institutions, catering establishments or residents.

2. The green area will become a City Park accessible to all. That means making an effort to preserve existing green structures such as trees and cultural historical features such as water basins and pump houses. The goal here is an open area that can be reached via a network of paths that matches the street layout of the immediate surroundings. We are free to allocate all kinds of functions to them as we choose.

3. An important part of the plan is Living on the Edge of the Park, which functions as a frame around the picture. On the one hand, this completes the park, and on the other, a highly valued residential environment can be created here in which various types of dwelling can be placed and where there are opportunities for different target groups.

Our Master Plan sets out a course that involves not only building many dwellings and raising the spatial, economic and social quality for the whole district to a higher level, but also doing so in a way that contributes to climate adaptation and biodiversity. We have also included a development strategy in the plan and drawn up the phases and order of the steps required for implementation. In the design process we have worked closely together with the Master Plan Getting Up Steam working group. Various interest groups and individual residents have joined in to provide ideas for the redevelopment, to reflect on the draft plans, and thereby to feel co-proprietor of the area. The Master Plan was decided on by the Hof van Twente local authority on 8 February 2022.