Minister’s report card

Local business climate in Helmond rated best of all

THE HAGUE - Helmond’s business has the highest local satisfaction level. Schiedam scored the worst in the survey results sent by Economic Affairs Minister Maria van der Hoeven to the Second Chamber. The survey covered 5,200 businesses and the 31 largest municipalities.

The survey looked at aspects such as the granting of licenses, accessibility, company start-up policy and the assessment of the local business climate. According to the minister, executives are now more positive about the local business climate than in earlier surveys. There still remain many unresolved issues, however.

The municipal waiting periods - on paper - for processing time are particularly long for environmental licenses, averaging 23 weeks. The period for a building permit is around 10 weeks, but can vary from as little as three to as long as 18 weeks.

Remarkably, the minister stated, executives are very satisfied with their ability to access their businesses by car, even though the number and severity of traffic jams has increased in recent years. Only in Leiden, a city near The Hague, a majority of respondents terms accessibility of their offices inadequate.

In Dordrecht, Leeuwarden and Breda, the business climate has improved the most, entrepreneurs report. Enschede, Lelystad, Maastricht and Tilburg are rated the highest for their business start-up policies.

Companies rate the business climate in general highest in Helmond. The scores for Leeuwarden, Leiden, Nijmegen and Schiedam have improved, but are below that of other municipalities.