The refurbishment of the city centre of Hengelo is still underway, but has already won various awards, including the Most Inspiring Inner City Project of the Netherlands.

No less than 18 different municipalities took part in the election organised by Platform Binnenstadsmanagement in recent months. Together with Veenendaal, Hengelo was chosen as the winner. During the Day for the City Centre 2023, Hengelo received the prize for the theme of ‘cooperation’ in its own city.

The jury appreciates the guts the municipality of Hengelo has shown to admit previous mistakes in the development of the city’s layout and to open up the entire process. Everyone, including residents, young people, entrepreneurs and schools, was allowed to help build a new design for the Market Square. The design has been completely adapted to a square full of greenery, trees and meeting places. The city centre of Hengelo succeeded in converting previous negative noises into an active participation process in which everyone could provide their input.

The jury is also very positive about the decisive approach of the municipality in this project. The process of redesigning the Marktplein is a source of inspiration for every city centre in the Netherlands.