Intercommunal Climate smart business park Waidhofen an der Ybbs, Lower Austria

Waidhofen an der Ybbs is a statutory city in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. The city had a population of 11,662 as of the 2001 census and an area of 131.56 km². The city is located in the gentle hills of the Mostviertel region and is characterized by a picturesque landscape with forests, meadows and the Ybbstal (valley of the river Ybbs) Alps in the background. 

The average annual temperature in the region was 8.0 °C between 1971 and 2000. Data shows that the temperature is continuously rising; 2018 was already 2.5 °C above this long-term average. The already noticeably high temperature level of recent years will continue to increase in the future. The air temperature rises sharply in summer in all climate simulations. With higher temperatures, the number of hot days per year also increases, roughly doubling to 11 days, thus leading to a further increase in heat stress. Moreover, the number of wet days is projected to increase in the near future, with a slight increase of the total annual precipitation. Summer is expected to continue to bring more precipitation than autumn, winter, and spring (Climate Change Adaptation Concept KLAR!)). These data indicate the need for climate resilient design of new business facilities to mitigate the impacts of climate change on the production, storage and distribution components of the value chain. 

The main challenge was to develop a resource-efficient overall site development, that includes and balances multiple needs and objectives. These include ensuring public transport connections, safe pedestrian and cycle paths, alternative energy and heat supplies, permeable parking surfaces, and effective rainwater management that stores as much water as possible on-site. At the same time, the business park should be attractive and affordable to businesses.  

As part of the “Climate Change Adaptation Model Regions for Austria - KLAR!“ project , all municipalities in the Amstetten district and the statutory city of Waidhofen/Ybbs are members of a specific KLAR! Region. This region corresponds to the former "KEM Amstetten North" and "KEM Amstetten South regions," which have existed since 2010. The KLAR! region project was founded in 2019 and is a big driver for climate change adaptation in Austria. The project is funded by the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund and offers a process-oriented approach for municipalities to raise awareness for climate change adaptation and implement concrete actions at regional level. Municipalities had the opportunity to cover half of the costs for one person position for 6 years  and for implementing some adaptation measures. This motivated municipalities to participate in the project.   

The current amendments to the Lower Austrian Spatial Planning Act (NÖ ROG) and the Lower Austrian Building Code provide municipalities with larger legal scope for action to implement climate-smart-and energy-efficient business locations. Provided that the land is secured, stipulations can also be made via private legal agreements. Those are for example urban development contracts as part of the sale of the land. Based on experience from practical examples, the “ecoplus” investor service advises municipalities on the development options and implementation of climate-smart business locations. Ecoplus is the Business Agency of Lower Austria, a 100% province-owned company that connects business and politics, companies and administrations, investors and initiators of regional and international projects. Its focus is on promoting projects that are important for the regional economy.  

The overall objective of the site development was to create a new climate smart business park, to simultaneously address climate change adaptation and mitigation while also creating green spaces that increase the attractiveness of the location for business.  

As reported in the Master Plan for the business park, specific objectives of the project are to establish or maintain landscape corridors, strengthening and creating attractive public space and pathways connecting nearby attractions and natural areas, ensuring sustainability in development and construction, and generating low ecological footprint.   

The business park project was supported by the state of Lower Austria, as a "lighthouse project" for climate-smart and sustainable commercial site development. It is considered a model for other municipalities in the region (e.g. Schwechat, Guntramsdorf, Pottendorf). The land was previously used for agriculture and then transformed into a business area. This required a legal change in land zoning from agriculture to business land. The business park serves six commercial businesses and 12,000 square meters of space for municipal businesses. 

The overall site development maximises the use of water and energy resources by considering various objectives such as connections to local public transport (ÖPNV), safe footpaths and cycle paths, alternative energy and heat supplies, permeable parking surfaces and effective rainwater management to store as much water as possible on site. Only through this holistic planning sustainable and future-proof business areas can be created. 

Special design elements keep clear lines of sight into the landscape such as the view of the Ybb Valley, the city and Rabenberg mountain area. They increase the overall attractiveness of the site. A shared parking space avoids parking along the surrounding streets. In addition, sealed areas are minimal, with several elements of green design. 

The adopted approach links climate mitigation (e.g. 50% of the officially prescribed or actually built parking spaces are for electric mobility) and adaptation. Main adaptation measures contribute to restore the hydrological cycle altered by climate change and excessive water consumption.  They are expected to reduce water runoff during heavy rain events and increase water infiltration in the soil.  They also counteract the expected increasing temperatures by offering public green spaces. Adaptation measures include: 

• Creation of a green space concept for the company premises. 

• Rainwater management (e.g. cisterns, permeable outdoor area design, 1000 m permeable pathways) 

• Tree planting (150 trees planted in public spaces and public roads). 

• Parking lot design with permeable surfaces (e.g. lawn grids).  

The above adaptation measures are established by the design developers and apply to the whole site. Further specific measures are laid down in private law agreements as part of the land sale contracts. While these measures are mainly designed for saving energy (climate change mitigation), most of them also help improve living and working conditions possibly affected by climate change (e.g. thermal comfort during heatwaves). These measures cover: 

• Adequate green space design of the undeveloped area (target: 50% of the undeveloped area). 

• Permeable parking spaces (e.g., with grass pavers), if technically feasible and practical for the intended use. 

• Surface water infiltration (roof, paved open spaces) on private property. 

• Reuse  of greywater (e.g. from sinks, washbasins, showers).  

• Green roofs or photovoltaics on the roof. 

• Ecologically certified building standards. 

• Reduction of the heating demand of buildings (currently 15% above the norm) 

• Mechanical ventilation systems, if technically and property-specifically feasible. 

• "Building component activation" provided this does not counteract innovative construction methods (timber construction).1 

• Avoidance of combustion processes involving gas, oil, and coal (no gas/oil heating systems).

Stakeholder participation was organised according to the Austrian laws for land rezoning cases. This means citizens have the possibility to share their opinion about rezoning. To reduce potential conflicts, an additional stakeholder information event was also organized to present and discuss the plans. Main issues covered were potential noise and smell emissions from the new development area and how the traffic would be organized.

The main success factor was that the municipality of Waidhofen bought the area from farmers and could set environmental conditions in the re-sale contracts to companies. For example, the companies were obliged to rent at least 50% of the permeable parking space provided by the municipality. Moreover, most of the measures listed in the ‘Solutions’ section had to be implemented by companies. 

Another success factor was that the area was developed including intercommunal aspects. Instead of ‘silo thinking’ and developing business parks independently in each community of the region, the cooperation has led to a regionally agreed location of the park. The coordinated decision avoided duced the risk of environmental impacts through developing multiple competing business parks in the area.  

Another success factor is the possibility to use the roads within the business park for public activities such as skating, walking dogs, cycling, as the roads are public. In particular during the weekends the park is frequently used by local citizens. This is expected to enhance the wellbeing of people living in the nearby, who are able to use the park for free. 

Based on this experience, other industrial areas have also prescribed climate-smart criteria  (e.g. municipalities of Schwechat, Guntramsdorf, Pottendorf). These criteria are established through specific site development plans or private contracts. 

The total costs of the project were 1.3 Mio EUR. Besides building climate resilience and reducing greenhouse emissions, important co-benefits are an increased attraction of the area for companies, and better quality of life for workers and citizens. Further lower maintenance costs are also expected, due to increased energy efficiency. There are also potential benefits for biodiversity, due to new vegetated areas including new planted trees. The maintenance costs, sustained by the municipality for green area management, are about 10,000 Euros a year, for pruning trees about 1,000 Euros a year. This is cross-financed by a parking lot rent of 300 Euros a year. Around 60 parking lots are available.

The activity started in August 2019 when the planning was kicked off. Works ended in December 2022.

The business park does not have a predefined lifetime, since it is expected to last until it is needed and is economically viable. Most adaptation measures, implemented in the new built park, have a minimum lifetime of 20 years.

Waidhofen a.d. Ybbs municipality

Stabstelle Standort- und Organisationsentwicklung

post@waidhofen.at

Media news: https://waidhofen.at/news/news/wirtschaftspark-kreilhof-6 

 Masterplan: https://login.waidhofen.at/media/magistratwaidhofen/1641309783-wh-kh-200416-masterplan-pdf.pdf